A Tale of Souls and Swords
by Feudal Peach
Summary: Kagome has fallen apart, the groups betrayal and the loss of her son has broken her. Ready to let go, she accepts her death. Unfortunately for her though, fate will not allow it... The Gods have a prophecy for her to fulfill! {Kagome/ Sesshomaru}
1. A Lost Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Ok, so I had a request to post this story on fanfiction and so... Here it is Fubuki! For those of you who haven't reads this story, I hope you enjoy. Feel free to review, they are all appreciated! And please excuse any mistakes, I don't have a beta reader and I could read this 20 times before posting and STILL miss things. lol

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Lost Soul**

* * *

The cell was dark and damp, the smell was absolutely terrible. A lone figure sat in the far left corner contemplating everything she has went through over the years. All the sadness, loneliness, and betrayal soured her mood completely. Not even the happier memories of her travels could cheer her up. But there was one emotion she just couldn't shake no matter how much she tried, guilt. It ate at her, gnawing at everything that made her... well her. Her light, her dark, her heart, and her soul. She has lived a very long time and unfortunately for her she has a very long time to come before this life of hers is over.

The small figure looked around her cell... there wasn't much here, just a small blanket and a pale. She has been in this cell for three weeks, five days, 18 hours, and 32 minutes now, but she will be leaving it soon. Her trial is tonight. The four lords of the territories will be deciding her fate. The time has come for her to pay for her sins. They will more then likely give her death but unfortunately for them killing her will not be easy... if even possible. Tonight is the night where everything will come to light, all her sins revealed but in revealing this it will only bring up more questions. Everyone thought she was dead. Everyone heard of her 'passing' 75 years ago.

She looked nothing like what she did in the past. Her jet black hair now reached down to her mid thighs and her blue eyes were hidden behind a white cloth that is tied around her head. Was she blind? Hardly, but it was too much for her to look into others eyes and see everything they have ever experienced, ever felt, and all their secrets that they held deep inside. Especially since she is mostly around demons. So she keeps her eyes covered and used her minds eye to see everything around her. Her small figure was covered with a hooded cloak so none of her tattoos or piercings were visible. Over the years of traveling the world she most definitely enjoyed her time in India and that was where she discovered her love for it.

The woman pulled her legs into a lotus position and got out her cards from the inside of her robe. She was nervous about tonight and needed a reading to reassure herself. She cleared her mind and focused on her situation while she shuffled her deck of cards a few times before drawing 3 of them. Placing the 3 in front of her and setting the rest aside, she flipped them one by one. Her first card, the situation, had a burly man sitting on a throne with a crown on his head, was placed upside down. The Emperor card. With this card placed upside down was not what she was hoping for... The lords were going to be stubborn and its going to be hard to get them to listen. She placed her hand over the card and focused on it. She could see glimpses of their faces, snarling and hateful... her only saving grace will be the Northern Lord. He was the wisest of them and quite the curious dragon. With a slight shake of her head she cleared her mind and flipped the next card. The card had a proud lion on it, The Strength card was placed right side up. A good card to have as her second, which was what she needed to solve the problem. She will need all the strength, patience and courage she has in this tiny body of hers to get herself through this. And finally her last card... The outcome. With a shaky hand she flipped it, it showed a young woman that was bound and had a cloth tied over her eyes. Eight swords were surrounding her. Her final card was the Eight of Swords, upside down. She let out the breath she was holding and sighed in relief... She was going to be free. With telling her story she will finally be free.

There was a loud bang of the dungeon doors closing and it made her jump. She quickly gathered her tarot cards and put them back in her robe before standing up and dusted herself off. She waited patiently for the guards to show themselves. She could feel their aura approaching her cell. Their hostility was very evident and she flinched when they appeared in front of her cell, glaring at her but none of them said anything. The first guard unlocked her cell and the two other guards walked towards her before grabbing her roughly by the arms. The first one walked behind her and put his large hands on her shoulders to keep her still. The second one stopped in front of her and grabbed her hands, placing them in heavy metal shackles. Once she was restrained, they dragged her out of her cell and through the dungeon. Their stride were long and fast making it hard for her to keep up. She didn't fight it, she deserved it after all. They turned the corner and she came face to face to the huge double doors that concealed those who will judge her today. In truth, she was petrified, even though nothing could kill her. She knew there was a handful of demons behind that door that she didn't want to face but she knew she had to...she wasn't ready. The feeling of panic started to seep in as they marched closer to the door. She had to calm herself, taking deep breaths, she heard the guard next to her starting to chuckle. They were enjoying her suffering. Finally at the door, the guards open it. The demonic auras were suffocating as she entered the throne room.

The hate that filled this room was oppressing...she could hear all the snarling and hate filled comments as the guards continued to drag her to the front. As they got closer to the dais, she was surprised to see Inuyasha and Kikyo sitting off to the side, she wondered when the brothers called a truce. When finally there the guards forced her to her knees in front of the four thrones before walking off to the side of the room. The growls around her stopped when one of the lords elegantly raised his clawed hand to silence them and gracefully stood up.  
He was beautiful, no other male could compare themselves to the Western Lord. His moon spun hair and bright golden eyes could make any female weak in the knees. With such a strong body structure and his height of 6'11 made him extremely intimidating. Lord Sesshoumaru was the most powerful demon in Japan... possibly the whole world. He was the youngest of the four lords looking no more than 25 even though he was a little over 800 years old.

To Lord Sesshoumaru's left sat the Southern Lord, Lord Daichi. Lord Daichi was a tiger youkai, ruler of the Tora Clan of the South. The tiger stood strong at 6'5 with knee length black hair and sharp orange eyes. Upon his forehead showed a red diamond, the Southern crest. He sat on the Southern throne wearing a white and gold kimono, displaying the southern colors. From what she knew of Lord Daichi was a fair ruler and loved by his subjects. He takes his job as lord very seriously and protects his people fiercely.

To the right of the Western Lord sat the Eastern Lord, Lord Shin. Lord Shin was a burly bear demon. Standing at 6'9, he had chestnut brown and his eyes were the color of the blackest coals. Lord Shin was the ruler of the Kumo Clan. You could tell by looking at him that he was utterly stubborn and a very rough fellow. Upon his forehead was the symbol of the East, a golden sun. He sat on the Eastern throne wearing a white and green kimono, the colors of the East. The bear youkai was an aggressive ruler and quick tempered. He is known for being greedy and his land suffered for it but in the face of this new threat he joined an alliance with the other lords.

Sitting next to Lord Shin was the fourth and final lord, the Northern Lord. Lord Ryuunosuke was the oldest and wisest of the four lords. His clan was the most ancient of all the clans, his kind was one of the first youkai. Lord Ryuunosuke was the leader of the Doragon Clan. The dragon was the biggest demon in the room standing at 7'5, he towered over everyone. He was a hard demon to miss not only because of his height but because of his striking purple locks and ruby red eyes. Upon his forehead was the Northern symbol, a white north star. He sat on the Northern throne wearing a white and blue kimono, the colors of the North. The dragon youkai was a kind ruler but vicious when needed to be. Most of the North was occupied by the dragons, very few could stand the cold climate. For the most part the North stayed neutral in war but has had an alliance with the West for over a thousand years.

She quickly looked down as all the lords glared at her. The hatred rolling off them made her flinch and recoil back. The silence was making her antsy and she tried her hardest to not fidget and waited quietly, keeping her head bowed. Finally Lord Sesshoumaru spoke, his voice so cold it sent a shiver up her spine.

"Tell This One why he should grant you a trial? Make your explanation quick Wench, This One is low on his patience." He growled out viciously as his eyes started to tint red. All the demons in the room growled their agreement along with him.

"We should just kill her now and be done with it. The stupid bitch admitted to doing it. We don't need a trial!" Lord Shin rough voice shouted over all the growls echoing in the room. He flexed his claws wanted nothing more than to rip her apart.

"Yes we do..." All the growls stopped and looked over to the Northern Lord, waiting for him to continue. Lord Ryuunosuke looked around the room and sighed. Apparently everyone forgot a very important part of this situation.

"Explain, Lord Ryuunosuke." Lord Daichi finally spoke up, curious as to what the dragon had to say.

"Because what she is confessing to couldn't possibly be true. The destruction of the 7 villages happened 75 years ago. How could she be the one responsible when she is but human?" He finished explaining then turned to look at her intently. "But what This One really wants to know is, why is she admitting to something she didn't do?" He stopped and waited for her to reply. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the human wench kneeling in front of their lords, whispering among themselves.

"Hmmm, yes This One believes he did hear something about the false Shikon Miko being the one responsible for the crime and Prince Inuyasha has already dealt with her death." Lord Daichi murmured in agreement. All four lords looked down at the kneeling human in front of them in confusion.

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish here Wench? This One, along with the other lords are busy and at the brink of war. We do not have time for you to be playing this little game of yours." Lord Sesshoumaru seethed out coldly.

"She should be punished for just wasting our time! The crime has already been delt with... Guards!" Lord Shin exclaimed as he stood up and motioned for the guards to come forward and get the onna but everyone stopped when her small voice finally spoke out.

"That is where you are wrong, my lords. I am the one responsible for all those deaths, all 463 of them." She said barely above a whisper knowing that everyone could hear her clearly. She kept her head down as anguish washed over her.

She will never forgive herself for causing all those innocent deaths, even though it was by accident. She hadn't meant to harm anyone, wither they were demon, hanyou, or human. she was a pure soul... or at least she use to be, now she was tainted by the world around her. That night she had just awoke her dormant powers and couldn't control them and because of it, 463 demons died that night. She has spent the last 75 years trying to make up for it by saving a life for every one she took. Thinking of the past made her look down at the amulet around her neck. It was the only thing keeping her powers at bay. No one in the room could feel her miko powers. In truth she was the most powerful miko in Japan. Her story was a long one, one that before this night was over will be told and there was no time to wait. An evil more dangerous then any anyone has faced before has risen and she could feel him waiting at the edge of her senses. They didn't have much time before the god was upon them.

"Why do you continue to lie Wench? If what you said was true you would be getting close to a hundred. You look no more then 20 years old." Lord Daichi asked, the look on his face completely confused.

She shifted uncomfortably, lifting her heavy shackled hands to the white cloth over her eyes and making sure to keep her head down. She start to say a soft chant, so soft that no one in the room could hear it. It was time to reveal herself, so she started to undo the shadow spell concealing her features. Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves because she knew once she revealed herself she would cause a riot, especially with Inuyasha and his mate Kikyo. She suppose they were not going to be happy to see her. Thinking of Inuyasha, he looked old. older than she last seen him any way. He looked to be in his early 30's, he now looked like the older brother since Sesshoumaru looked to be 25. Kikyo naturally looked the same since she was still a walking corpse. She couldn't believe that Inuyasha mated her. She finally turned her attention back to the lords in front of her and braced herself.

"I do not lie, my lords. I am the one you have been looking for and you are correct, I am 95 years old. My story is a long one but one I am finally ready to tell if you are willing to hear of it." She bowed and waited with baited breath for their answer. All the lords looked at each other and you could see that they were at least a little intrigued.

"Alright wench, we shall hear of it and decide your punishment afterwards." Lord Sesshoumaru finally conceded and she bowed her thanks.

"Now the question is where should I start?" she whispered more to herself than anyone else.

"At the beginning human." Lord Ryuunosuke answered for her and she nodded.

"It all started 80 years ago, when I was 15 years old. Most already have heard of my story at that time, I was well known throughout Japan." She shifted a bit to get more comfortable. Off to the side she could see Inuyasha's ears perk up and knew he was listening closely, so was his mate.

"I shall start by introducing myself then." She sat straighter and took a deep breath, making sure to keep her face hidden a little longer.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi and I am the Shikon Miko." There were loud gasps that filled the room, everyone either knowing her or had heard of her. Lord Sesshoumaru gave her a sharp look. She could see Kikyo tense and Inuyasha stand getting ready to give his opinion on this new turn of events no doubt. Even the other 3 lords recognized her name. Lord Sesshoumaru silenced the room before speaking again.

"Lies, the Shikon Jewel has been wished on and the false Miko is dead. We have witnesses who saw her fall to her death. You are trying This Sesshoumaru's patience Wench!" Kagome knew he was starting to lose his calm composure and spoke up quickly.

"I assure you my lord, I am very much alive." Kagome finally lifted her head and pulled her hood down to reveal herself. Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he looked at her. Kagome released a little bit of her reiki so he could feel it and catch her sent. All of these things will prove to him that she was who she claimed to be.

"IMPOSSIBLE! I WATCHED YOU DIE WENCH!" Inuyasha finally jumped up screaming. She knew it was coming. Even Kikyo was surprised. Kagome didn't even bother to turn and acknowledge either of them though.

"May I please continue my lord? We don't have much time." His glare shut Inuyasha up and he looked at her a few more minutes before nodding. Everyone focused on her and waited... no one wanted to miss any details of this story.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 1**

* * *

*Thank you for reading... Next chapter will be of Kagome's past. Inuyasha's Betrayal and death of those she loved most! Until next time. ;p

-PEACH


	2. A Broken Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: The next 10 chapters will be flashbacks from Kagome's past. Chapter 13 is when the story will pick back up from chapter 1.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A Broken Soul**

* * *

 _ **:75 YEARS EARLIER:**_

Kagome could hardly breath, she has been running and hiding for days now. There was no time to rest, no time eat, and they were still on her trail. She could feel them at the edge of her senses. She could not fail, she had to lose them. She could not let them have the jewel. A long time ago Kagome realized that there was no such thing as a pure wish. If they catch her and take the jewel, they will taint it beyond repair. They all betrayed her, those who were suppose to be her friends, her family. Their greed darkened their hearts.

Memories swarmed her mind, making her head spin. Tears started to trail down her cheek and a sob escaped her lips. In her frenzy, Kagome failed to see the root that stuck out of the ground and tripped, collapsing. She couldn't go on anymore, the pain was too much for her to take. Her little Shippo, he was all she cherished in the world and now he was gone.

* * *

It was here, the final battle for the jewel and everything was happening so quickly, Kikyo at the last moment decided to join the group shortly before the battle started. The Western Lord showed up as well, he too wanting his revenge against the spider hanyou. Kagome stood in the back firing arrows, trying to hit any enemy she could. Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Sesshoumaru were focused on Naraku, while Sango, Miroku, and herself were focused on the surrounding demons. Kirara was protecting Shippo behind her.

All of a sudden Inuyasha and Naraku were right in front of her and she froze. There was a sudden cry of pain as Naraku's tentacle pierced Kikyo's left leg. The cry sent Inuyasha racing to her rescue her, leaving Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara unprotected. It was as if everything went into slow motion, Naraku took advantage of Inuyasha's distraction and sent a tentacle towards Shippo. Without thinking, Kagome launched herself in front of it to save him. The tentacle stabbed her in the right shoulder as she fell to the ground. The pain was unimaginable but not as painful as the scream she heard next, the sound made her heart stop. She frantically searched for Shippo and when she found him her heart completely stilled. Tears blurred her vision as a tentacle struck Kirara next, killing her instantly. She could hear Sango's anguished cry as she tried to fight her way to Kirara, Miroku following closely behind her. She sobbed as she looked over at Shippo and tried to fight her way to him but Naraku had her pinned. Naraku's wicked laughter rung out as a tentacle wrapped around Shippo's neck, taking sick delight in her pain. There was nothing she could do as a tentacle pierced his heart. She watched shocked as the life left his beautiful green eyes. Everything around her faded in the background, she was having difficulty with breathing. To stuck in her grief, she didn't even noticed the battle had ended. Between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, they were able to distract Naraku long enough for Kikyo to gather every bit of her powers to shoot a purifying arrow, killing him.

His ashes fell all around her and that was all it took to snap her back to reality. Too numb to understand what was going on, she just laid there. Then something caught her eye and she watched as the jewel rolled to her side as if it had a mind of its own. Kagome picked it up and clutched it as if it was her life line. It was all her fault! Her Shippo was gone!

Later that night back at the camp the silence was deafening. As if she was on autopilot, she tended to one wound after another. They had just got done burying Kirara and Shippo. She had begged Sesshoumaru to bring them back, got on her knees even. She was willing to do anything to get them back but it was no use. He drew his sword but it didn't respond, refusing to work.

She approached Sango to tend to her wounds but her hand was slapped away. Shocked Kagome looked up and her breath left her. There was so much hate in her eyes and it brought tears to her own.

"Do not touch me!" the malice in Sango's voice surprised her.

"Sango your wounds need to be cleaned." she told her with a shaky voice. It was so hard to keep it together.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! GOD DAMN YOU FOR BEING SO WEAK KAGOME! THEY ARE GONE BECAUSE OF YOU!" Sango's screaming drew everyone's attention. Kagome was speechless. Sango shoved her to the ground and stormed away, Miroku following after her.

"She's right you know, you're such a useless bitch and a pathetic excuse for a miko."Inuyasha harsh words brought her to tears. She had to get away, without looking back she ran to the near by creek. She had tried and she fought her hardest but it wasn't enough. Movement caught her attention and she quickly turned around. She held her breath as Sesshoumaru walk towards her.

"You had no business being in that battle. You should have stayed in the village with your kit, he would have been alive if you had." With that said he turned and left, heading back to the West.

He was right, she had no reason to be there. They had Kikyo and didn't need her. Kagome slowly walked back toward the camp but as she got closer she started to pick up on their conversation.

"We can still bring them back." Kikyo's calm voice was heard clearly. "We can use the jewel to do it. We can bring them back, I can live again, and Inuyasha can be full demon. We deserve it after everything we went through." She continued.

"Kagome will not give it up willingly." Miroku knew it all to well. All he wanted was for Sango to be happy and he would stand by her until she was.

"We will make her, it was her fault to begin with. She has to make this right!"Sango growled out, hatred still in her voice.

"Don't worry guys, we will get it when she falls asleep tonight."Inuyasha said with confidence and everyone nodded in agreement. Kagome couldn't believe that they would do this to her. That they could be so cruel, didn't they realize that they would taint it beyond repair. She had to get away and quick, she needed to get to the well.

She lost track of how long she has been running. She finally stopped to rest in a cave she stumbled across. She had no reason to be here any more. She could finally go home and forget about this awful place. It was noon when she stopped to rest, she wouldn't be able to relax for long but her shoulder was killing her and she needed to change the make shift bandage. She figured she will arrive at the well by dusk if she left now. she needed to get there quickly. With that thought Kagome got up and continued to the well.

The sun was just setting as she entered the clearing but what she saw made the last shred of hope leave her.

"NO!" Kagome shook her head in denial and ran to the well. The well was in pieces, from the damage surrounding the area she could tell it was caused by the wind scar. 'How could he do this?! Everything is gone! How much more was she expected to take?!' Off in the distance she could hear her so called friends approaching. She had to leave and now! She took off like the hounds of hell were on her heels. She had know idea where to go but she had to run.

* * *

She could hear them getting closer, this was it for her. She slowly made her way to the edge of the cliff and watched the waves as she waited. It didn't matter any more what happened, she lost her son and now she can't go home. But she would be damned if she let them have the jewel. The temptation to jump was so appealing.

"Oi Bitch! Give us the jewel! You have no where else to run."Inuyasha's voice was ignored as she continued to look at the waves.  
Before anyone else could say anything, the sound of a bow string snapping was heard. Kagome turned just in time to see Kikyo's arrow heading towards her. She clutched the jewel close to her heart and closed her eyes. The arrow lodged itself in her stomach, the force of it pushed Kagome back over the edge of the cliff. She didn't feel much though, numbness has long taken over. As Kagome fell into the oceans depth Kagome finally felt relief... it was over.

A loud splash was heard and everyone ran to look over the cliff. No one could see any sign of Kagome. After 10 minutes and not seeing her surface they knew she was dead. Inuyasha started cursing and looking around frantically looking for the jewel but no one could find it.  
"The bitch must still have it!" He growled out.

"Or she hid it. I didn't feel it's power like I normally do. We must back track." Kikyo murmured before walking away.  
"What if she made a wish on it?"

"She didn't, she too selfless for that." Everyone nodded and turned to follow her. " She knows that there is no such thing as a pure wish."

She was floating...and it was so peaceful. She continued to let herself sink more than ready to let it all end. As the water started to fill her lungs, she closed her eyes for what she hoped was the final time.

As the life left her body the Shikon Jewel started to glow brightly, lighting up the oceans depth. Slowly the jewel floated closer to her body and hovered over her heart. Then with a quick flash of light the jewel forced itself into the broken miko's heart, starting it back up again. A light pink barrier formed and continued to float there in the dark depth. Now it was time to wait... the world wasn't ready for her to come back yet. The Seer has much to learn about her gifts...and her destiny!

* * *

 **End of chapter 2**

* * *

*Thank you for reading. Next chapter will be of Kagome learning what she is and to start her training. Until next time.

-PEACH


	3. A Learning Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. I'm happy that you all are enjoying this story so far. :)

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Learning Soul**

* * *

She felt like she was floating and it was so peaceful. The blackness was all around her and she felt nothing, completely numb of all the pain she has endured. No thoughts of her son, no thoughts of her friends betrayal, and no thoughts of her lost family and future. She was glad that it was all over, glad that she had finally let go. But something caught her attention, she could hear something. Which was odd, she was dead so why is she hearing things? Kagome tried to focus more on what she was hearing. It sounded like a voice, it was so faint but she was sure it was a female speaking ...but to who? Her brow furrowed as she tried to make out what the voice was saying and as she did another voice was heard but this one was male. The more she focused the more she was becoming aware of her surroundings.

"She should have awaken by now. What is taking so damn long?!" The male voice growled out.

"Patience Magatsuhi, she will come around soon enough." The light female voice answered back to the impatience male.

"She has been asleep for 7 days! We don't have time for this Midoriko!" Magatsuhi started to pace.

"Actually, we have all the time in the world Magatsuhi. You're just too impatient." Midoriko's soothing voice had a hint of amusement in it.  
The voices were coming in more clearly now... Midoriko, she knew that name. The priestess that created the jewel. Now she knew she was dead but she was still confused. Midoriko was still stuck in the jewel. Who was Magatsuhi? His name was faintly familiar as well but where has she heard of it.

Slowly Kagome started to open her eyes. The light was blinding at first so she quickly closed them again. With a groan she tried to move, quickly realizing she was laying on her back. Opening her eyes again until they were just barely open, her vision was blurry. She blinked a couple times to clear them. The first thing she noticed when her vision was clear was that she was staring at a ceiling. Looking around without moving her head, she could see the tops of book shelves. They were faintly glowing from the light of what she assumed was the light of a fireplace, she could her it crackling as it continued to burn. Becoming more aware of her surroundings, Kagome noticed the silence. The two voices had stopped talking probably because they realized she was waking up. With a loud groan, Kagome rolled to her side and looked at the two figures sitting by the fireplace. Looking around some more she noticed she was in a library, but how did she get here?

"It's about damn time!" Magatsuhi growled out.

"Hush Magatsuhi! Leave her be." Midoriko said without looking at the male and gave Kagome a warm smile. "His bark is worse than his bite, don't mind him Kagome."

Kagome's muscles protested as she tried to sit up and after a few tries she finally succeeded. She crossed her legs and faced the pair before clearing her throat.

"Where am I?" Kagome croaked out, her voice raspy from lack of use.

"You are inside the jewel." Midoriko gave her another small smile and Kagome's brow furrowed. ' The jewel... but I should be dead' Kagome's confusion was clear on her face.

"Am I dead?" Midoriko lightly laughed.

"No dear child, you are very much alive." Midoriko waved to Kagome to come sit next to her. Not bothering to try and walk, Kagome crawled the short distanced to sit in between the two.

"But how? I should be dead... I want to be dead. I want to find my peace." Kagome voice took on a sour tone and Midoriko gave her a sad look.

"Beacuse little one your destiny is just beginning." Midoriko told her sadly as she looked at the young girl that fate has been so cruel too. Her recovery wasn't going to be easy but she must push back her pain. The fate of the world rest on her small shoulders and she must be strong. Thankfully she won't have to take this journey alone though.

"I don't care about my destiny! I don't care about the stupid fucking jewel... I don't care about anything anymore! I want to be at peace!" Kagome's anger starting to get the better of her. Angry tears had formed and started to roll down her cheeks. She liked the numbness she had as she floated in the darkness and she wanted it back!

"Yea well you don't have a choice!" Magatsuhi glared at her.

"Silence Magatsuhi! Leave, I will speak to her alone. You will be of no help here!" Magatsuhi and Midoriko glared at each other but he said nothing as he got up and disappeared.

"Kagome, I know you have been through a traumatizing ordeal but I need you to be strong." Midoriko said as she wiped her tears from her cheeks but Kagome would have none of it. She quickly crawled away from Midoriko and sat where Magatsuhi was once sitting.

"No! I don't want anything to do with this destiny! I've lost everything! ...And I can't bring it back! I've lost my family! I've lost my son! I lost my friends! I've lost absolutely everything and I can't bring none of it back! All because I am weak! Find someone else to do this, someone stronger!" By the time her ranting was done Kagome was sobbing. Midoriko sadly looked at the broken miko as she gave her some time to collect herself and as the sobs turned to sniffles she gently brought Kagome into her arms.

"I am sorry Kagome but there is no one else." Kagome started to struggle in her hold but Midoriko quickly hushed her.

"Not all is lost Kagome. You will see your family again and your friends, well they were never your friends to begin with if they were so willing to betray you. But you will make new friends little one, ones that will never hurt you." Kagome started to settle down as she listened to Midoriko's words.

"But my son... I will never see my Shippo again. It was all my fault! I was too weak to save him." The tears started to come back as the pain took over again.

"I'm sorry Kagome but Shippo's death was not your fault... or Kirara's. You are not weak Kagome, the jewel would not choose a weak host. You are so much stronger than those who have protected the jewel before you and that is why this journey must fall on your shoulders." Midoriko gave her time to take in what she has said before continuing.

"Kagome you are the miko foretold in an ancient prophecy. You are destined to defeat a great evil that seeks to destroy everything. The world needs you and the world needs you to be strong." Kagome just stared into the flames of the fire as she listened but she couldn't bring herself to believe Midoriko's words. She was weak, she always has been. Everyone around her told her so.

"No you are wrong. It must be someone else." Midoriko sighed but continued talking.

"No I am right, you are the only miko that was born with the jewel inside your body. You are the only one pure enough and strong enough to do this." Midoriko said in a hard tone as she lifted Kagome's chin and stared into her eyes to try and get her point across. She could tell that Kagome was still struggling to believe her words but with time she is certain that she will. Maybe the element spirits will help her better than she could.

"Kagome you ARE the seer that will save this world! You ARE our only hope!" With that said Midoriko grew silent as Kagome drifted asleep. She will need her rest. Her training will begin soon.

When Kagome awoke again she noticed that she was still in Midoriko's lap. As she looked up she saw Midoriko looking down at her, giving her a warm smile. Sitting up, Kagome saw that Magatsuhi was back and was sitting in the same spot the last time she seen him.

"Kagome, now that you have rested was their any more questions you have?" Kagome turned back to look at Midoriko as she spoke.  
"You said that we are in the jewel... What do you mean?"

"Yes, we are but you are only in here in spirit. Your body is encase by a barrier that the jewel has formed around you. You are still floating in the oceans dept, where you will be safe. The jewel will allow no harm to come to you. Once your training is done and you begin your journey, the jewel will free your body." Kagome thought over this before asking her next question.

"How am I still alive? The arrow should have killed me."

"You did die but the jewel went back to it's rightful place, your heart and revived you. You were correct in thinking that there was no such thing as a pure wish Kagome. The only way to get rid of the jewel was for you to become one with it again. It is also why you have been having so much trouble with controlling your powers. With the jewel being out of your body and Kikyo having part of your soul, There was no way you could handle them. So the jewel had put a seal of sorts over you soul until it became whole with you again. As I said before Kagome, you are not weak but at the time you were not ready for your true power. " Things were starting to make sense now. Kagome could always feel the strong power right underneath her skin but could never reach it to pull it out of her.

"So what now?"

"Now you learn. Your training will take many years but to the outside world not a day will pass by. I will start your training on your spiritual powers and Magatsuhi will start teaching you combat skills. You will learn how to properly use a bow, along with swords play and hand to hand combat. Later after you have mastered these arts, we will begin your training on magic and controlling your gifts." Kagome's eyes widen after hearing about this. 'Magic?...Gifts?'

"What do you mean? I have gifts? ...and what kind of magic are you talking about? Magic doesn't exist." Midoriko laughed.

"Come now Kagome... after everything you have been through, you still don't believe in magic?" Now that Kagome thought about it, it did seem rather silly but magic was more of a youkai thing not a human thing. She watched with wide eyes as Midoriko lifted her hand and with a snap of her fingers every candle in the library lit up in flames.

"As for your gifts, I am referring to your sight... your minds eye. Have you ever wondered why you would dream of things and then later they would come true? That's because you have the gift of sight, you just don't know how to control it." Kagome always thought that she was going crazy when that happened and did her best to ignore it. She watched as Midoriko got up and walked over to a chest. Midoriko opened the chest and dug around a little bit before finding what she was looking for.

Walking back over to Kagome, she handed her a little silver box that had a huge tree with a single eye engraved on it. Looking back up at Midoriko, she opened the box once she saw her nod. Inside she saw a deck of cards. Confused, Kagome picked them up and turned them over. After looking through a couple cards, she started to realize what they were.

"Tarot Cards" Kagome gasped as she looked back to Midoriko.

"Yes... they will help you with your sight. I will teach you how to use them as we further your training." Midoriko said with a nod.

Kagome looked back down at the cards, a little bit in awe. For the first time since her world fell apart she was actually looking forward to something and could feel excitement creeping in. Slowly a small smile touched her lips and she looked over at Midoriko and gave her a nod.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 3**

* * *

An: Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter Kagome will be introduced to a new friend that will help her on her journey and Midoriko will explain more about the Element Spirits! Until next time. :D

-PEACH


	4. A Burning Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A Burning Soul**

* * *

The sound of weapons clashing echoed in the room. Two figures were in a deadlock, both trying with all their might to over come the other. Kagome was panting hard as she tried to come up with a way to break the hold she was in with Magatsuhi without leaving an opening for him to attack.

Years have passed by quickly, fifty to be exact and it has been hard. She had submerged herself in training, trying to escape all her pent up emotions that she refused to let go. No matter what Midoriko told her she is still responsible. When it all comes down to it she should have been stronger. She should have sat Inuyasha until he agreed to let her get the training she so desperately needed... and that was her fault. She knew what they were up against but she still let herself fall into the damsel in distress role and she did so willingly, too scared to push herself further. She was content with being weak and that selfishness cost her greatly, it cost her everything. But not any more, she has trained day in and day out for the past fifty years. She never rested, she apparently didn't need too. It's weird how this whole 'inside the jewel' thing worked. Even though fifty years have passed not a day in the real world has, it was like time has completely stopped for her.  
Her days were pretty much the same, twelve hours of training with Midoriko in her growing spiritual energy and magic and twelve hours of war strategies and weapon training with Magatsuhi. By the end of the day she is too exhausted to think on her emotions. It was almost robotic in feeling.

Their faces were so close to each other that Kagome could feel his heavy puffs of air hitting her face and an idea came to her. She quickly brought a massive amount of her reiki to her sword that made it burn brightly. In doing this, Magatsuhi closed his eyes from the bright light giving Kagome the advantage. She forcefully brought her knee up hitting him in the stomach before spinning left, swinging her sword horizontally to catch him as he went to straighten himself. His senses kicked in before that happened and Kagome's sword met air. Without missing a beat she ducked and rolled to her left again as he lunged for her. He missed her by inches and Kagome stayed crouched. Kagome's reiki rose again as she channeled it into her sword changing its structure, forcing the sword to stretch and form a Bo Staff. Staying crouched, she swiftly swung the staff hitting him in the back of his knees making him fall flat on his back. Flipping forward, she stood over him bringing the end of her staff down on him, stopping an inch from his face. The two just stared at each other for a few moments before Magatsuhi relaxed and sighed.

"Very good Kagome. You have improved greatly. I'm not sure that there is anything else I can teach you." Kagome relaxed and stepped away, the Bo Staff disappearing as she reign her reiki back in. Kagome held out her hand to help him up. Magatsuhi grabbed her hand and she pulled him back to his feet. She has mastered multiple weapons over the time she has been here. Swords, Bo Staff, Sais, Tessen, Bow, Kunai, Scythe, Chain Whip, and four different styles of martial arts. His weapon selection was odd to her but she had shrugged it off, she was happy to learn all she could. As her control over her powers grew she was able to use them to form weapons, so she has no need to carry any weapons on her.

"Thank you Sensei... but there is always room for improvement." She answered back as she gave him a bow. Magatsuhi snorted before turning around.

"This is true but quite frankly I'm tired of getting my ass kicked." Kagome gave a small smirk as she watched him walk towards the door.

"I do believe it's Midoriko's turn to deal with you." Kagome laughed as she turned in the direction of the library and shook her head. She didn't take offense to what he said knowing that it was just how he was. He had grown fond of her over the years.

As Kagome entered the library she noticed Midoriko meditating by the fireplace, so she tried to be as quiet as possible. Turning right, she tiptoed to the third bookshelf and picked up some spell books before taking them to her desk. Sitting down, Kagome pulled the top drawer opened and took out her own spell book. The book was thick, only a quarter of the book was blank, she would need another one soon. The cover of the book was leather and had a tree design with an open eye in the middle of the trunk. Over the years she has learned many spells, some easy and some complicated. She spent a good eight hours every day studying and copying spells.

She has come to learn that mikos have a natural gift to manipulate the elements around them but the connection was only as strong as the miko's powers. She has mastered the art of healing which is the most common among monks and mikos but with her reiki being so strong she has taken it to a whole new level. She is not only able to heal but completely cure diseases, regrow limbs, and bring a person back to life. She has also mastered the art of manipulating fire, water, wind, and earth as well. She has mastered controlling her visions and can bring them up when she needs it with the help of her tarot cards and rune stones. Now she spends her time with Midoriko learning and copying spells into her own book so she can take it on her journey.

"Kagome, come sit by me please." Midoriko's voice softly filled the room. Kagome paused and stared at her strangely. It's been years sense Midoriko talk to her in her down to business tone... which meant she had something important to tell her. She started to wonder if maybe it was time to go back to reality. She quickly and eagerly got up and sat down in a lotus position in front of Midoriko, waiting for her to continue.

"Kagome, you have learned everything that Magatsuhi and I can teach you but your journey is far from over. There is one more key element that you need to know of before the jewel releases you." Kagome nodded and watched as Midoriko pulled something out from the inside of her sleeve and went to hand it to her.

Grabbing the object, Kagome looked down at it. It was a necklace with a gold amulet that had the same design as her spell book, a tree with an eye. Running her fingers over it, she noticed it had eight empty slots that probably use to have jewels in it. She could tell that the amulet was old and worn. She could also feel a strange power coming off it and made her a little uneasy. Looking back up to ask a question, Midoriko shook her head at her before she could.

"That necklace will help you control and hide your reiki better. Kagome your spiritual energy is still growing and you will need to continue to meditate to control them. So please wear this at all times." Kagome nodded and slipped the chain over her head.

"As you can see that amulet is missing eight stones and you my dear need to find them." Kagome gave her a confused look and Midoriko laugh.

"That amulet is apart of the Elemental Guardians. Eight spirits that you will need on your side to defeat the god of death. In due time he will rise and bring the army of the damned with him. He will have every soul in hell at his command and this world is not ready for it. You are the only one that can stop this Kagome but you are going to need the help of these spirits and it won't be easy." Kagome was speechless... this was so much bigger than her previous journey. Naraku has nothing on the god of death. To be honest she was very much terrified. Midoriko gave her a moment before she continued.

"Kagome this journey will be harder and a lot more time consuming than your previous one." Kagome watched as Midoriko put a thick heavy book on the floor in between them. Looking closely, she didn't recognize the language in was written in. The lettering glowed as the light hit it and it gave her a strange feeling.

"Kagome this is the Hono No Sho." Midoriko pushed it closer to her and her powers were pulled to it.

"The Book of Flames?" Kagome asked puzzled.

"Yes... You will find the spirits by reading their books. It will open a portal and take you to them and once there they will test you to see if your worthy of their help. Only those with holy powers can read these books, that is why your reiki is drawn to it. The books are scattered all over the world and you will need the amulet to guide you to them. Lucky for us there are two in Japan. This one and the other one is in the library of the Western palace. Focus your reiki into the book and you will be able to learn the language, by chanting it out loud you will activate the portal." Kagome picked it up and poured her spiritual energy into it, she was just about to chant it when Midoriko grabbed her wrist.

"Kagome, you need to be prepared. These spirits are powerful, so powerful that no one has ever been able to summon all of them. You will need to be strong, you succeeding is the only chance we have at winning this up coming war." She gave a nod and took a deep breath before she started chanting. Slowly a portal starting to emerge in a swirl of black and purple mist like wisps, the colors continued to spiral. They both stood up and faced it.

"You will need to be quick Kagome. The portal will only be open for an hour. If you don't make it out in time than you will be stuck there. Kagome gave a nod before facing the portal again. Slowly she walked towards it lifting her hand to touch the mist but her hand went right through it so she slowly started to enter it.

'Good luck Kagome'

* * *

Once Kagome made it to the other side she quickly tried to back up. The heat of this place was suffocating. Looking around she noticed that she was on a small rocky island surrounded by lava and when she looked up she saw that everything was pitch black.

'A lava pit?'

' No little one, your in hell. Everything is dark here.' A deep voiced rumbled making Kagome jump. She looked around wildly but she couldn't see anyone.

"Who's there?!" Kagome started to slowly spin around in a circle, waiting for the male to show himself.

All of a sudden the ground started to shake, bringing Kagome to her knees when she lost her footing. Looking straight ahead of her, she watched as the lava started moving, forming a fountain that was rising up. Once the lava started coming down she saw a giant pheonix flying above her.

'Why have you disturbed my slumber miko?' Kagome heard him ask through her mind. Midoriko failed to tell her they had telepathic abilities. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Kagome swallowed thickly before clearing her throat.

"I have come to seek your help." Kagome wasn't going to lie to herself... she is very intimidated by this bird! Their is something very soulless about his eyes. The phoenix just stared at her for a few more minutes before he landed in front of her. Kagome jumped back, he was huge. He towered over her small form, she was the size of one of his claws and that made her very nervous. 'He is a BIG fucking bird.' Kagome quickly scrambled back as the phoenix burst into flames, the heat of it made her put her arm up to cover her face. As the flames died down and got smaller, Kagome saw a outline of a man.

Once the flames were finally distinguished, Kagome was able to see what he looked like. In his human form he was inhumanly tall, if she had to guess she would say he was about 8'3. He was built but not in a bulky way, more in a slim and lengthy way. His hair was a bright vibrant red that was short and was slicked back but spiked in the back. His eyes were completely black that gave him a demonic vibe about him but she didn't feel any evil coming from him, which kind of puzzled her. He had his right ear pierced, the earring had a red fading to orange feather hanging from it. On the left side of his face was a black tribal tattoo of flames starting right above his brow and ending at his jaw. He was wearing black hakamas and a red haori that was left opened, showing his chest. She also noticed that he had two swords, one strapped on his left hip and one on his right. They stared at each other for a long time before he decided to talk, which made Kagome jump.

"Tell me miko, why should I help you?" Kagome suddenly remembered that Midoriko told her that they would test her some how and thought of her answer carefully. 'Maybe if he know of the god of death and his plans then he would help me.' She thought and quickly decided to tell him of it. She completely forgot about his telepathic abilities.

" I care not about your troubles miko. Everyone before you has needed me for something or another. Some good and righteous endeavors and some of blood thirsty vengeful and greedy ones. Now, I ask you again miko... Why should I help you?" The phoenix said with a sigh and had a bored look on his handsome face as he waited. Kagome was speechless. She thought they were good but now she wasn't so sure. 'How can he not care?'

"That's simple miko, we are not heavenly beings out to get justice and do what's right. People tend to confuse that because we are called Guardians. This isn't the first time the fate of the world was at stake. We have witnessed every time it was, some of us on the good side and some of us on the bad. We follow whoever passes our test. Matter of fact, I was on the bad side last time." He said with a smirk and a small chuckle. It was then when Kagome realized that this was all a game to him, something to do when he was bored and it made her angry. His smirk turned into a big smile as her temper rose.

"Does that make you angry miko?" He asked with a smile and Kagome glared at him, saying nothing as she tried to control her anger.

"Tell me, what do you plan to do about it? You have no hope of beating me... and from what I can tell you have no hope of passing my test." He laughed, goading her further.

"Their is always hope! I WILL pass your test!" She seethed and continued to glare at him.

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that little one? Your weak. You don't stand a chance against me. You are nothing but a pathetic human... and an even more pathetic miko." He told her knowing that would be the final push he needed. Memories hit Kagome like a ton of bricks as she recalled all the times Inuyasha had told her the same thing. All the times she failed and it made her tense up. She was seething and without even realizing it her reiki formed a sword into one of her hands.

'FINE! I guess we will have to do this the hard way!' She thought as she watched him pull both his swords out and got into a fighting stance. Before Kagome could fully prepare herself he charged at her, catching her off guard. Out of reflex she brought her sword up to block his but it was clumsy and the power behind it was weak, making her fall to the floor. He towered over her and brought his sword down to strike her. Without thinking, she quickly rolled out of the way, the sword missing her by a couple of inches. Kagome scrambled to her feet and ducked out of the way of his second sword. She was finally able to face him and this time she was prepared as both his swords came down on her in the form of an X. She dug her heels into the ground as she braced herself, making her sword hit in between the two of his. Pushing him back with all her might, she put them in a deadlock.

He smile at her when he noticed she was already starting to break a sweat and was struggling against his strength. Noticing this made Kagome even more infuriated so she pushed harder but soon saw that he wasn't budging from his spot. She was already starting to tire and they just started. Now she was getting a little worried, he was a lot stronger than she thought. She was having difficulties even with using her powers to boost her strength. Than a thought hit her. ' He isn't a demon.' Her eyes widened at this point. She had assumed because of his appearance that he was because he certainly wasn't human. A chill went down her spine as she heard him laugh because of her thoughts.

"You are correct miko. I'm neither demon or human, Guardians are the first of their element. Think of me as... The god of fire." He chuckled out. "Our strength is of a god too." It was at that point that true fear struck her. She knew she couldn't beat a god, at least not by herself. That was why she was here. ' Why didn't Midoriko tell me this?!' She thought as she started to panic.

So lost in her thoughts, Kagome failed to notice his left knee coming up to hit her stomach. The force of it made her double over, pain consuming her. She tried to get to her feet and she went to look up at him, only to get smacked right back down. Laying there on her stomach, she noticed that he threw his swords down. 'Probably because he doesn't think he needs them any longer.' She heard him laughing in the background as he slowly circled her and knew her thought to be correct.

"Do you still think you can beat me miko? Do you really think you can beat a god?" Kagome heard the amusement in his voice as he said this.  
Still lying on her stomach, she spit out a mouth full of blood on the ground in front of her. She could feel him slowly approaching her from behind. Even though she was scared she tried to think of anything that could get her through this. She had to beat him, she didn't have a choice. The fate of everyone depended on it. She watched the blood drip off her lip onto the ground and a thought hit her. Quickly Kagome brought her finger up to lip covering it in her blood, she drew a quick magic diagram on the palm of her hand and rolled over onto her back when he finally stood over her. He reached down with one hand and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up in the air. Kagome grabbed his hand with both of hers as she struggled to breathe.

"Their is no more hope for you miko, just give up." He told her as he squeezed her throat a little harder. Kagome shook her head no and he glared at her, squeezing even more.

She just needed a few more seconds to gather enough power. She didn't even know if it would work but she had to try... He was a fire god after all and their was only one weakness she could think of. He narrowed his eyes at her, he didn't know why but everytime he tried to read her thoughts now he got nothing. He was being blocked by a barrier of some sort. Then he shrugged, it didn't matter either way he supposed. He was just about to drop her when he felt her power rising, so he continued to hold on a little longer out of curiosity.

Once Kagome felt she had enough reiki gathered she released it. The magic diagram she drew on her palm glowed a bright white and ice started to form, quickly covering his arm. In surprise and the pain he was feeling, he quickly dropped her but Kagome held on tightly to his arm. She pushed very drop of her spiritual energy into her palm making the ice stronger and go further up his arm until it was completely covered, but that also meant that her hands were frozen to his arm as well. He suddenly lifted his arm all the way up, bring her with it so she was dangling.

'So the human has courage after all. She is quite interesting.' He thought amused. Looking down at her, he noticed for the first time the amulet around her neck. 'So she seeks to find all of us then. Quite an adventure you are in for miko.' With that last thought he brought forth his own powers and covered himself in a burst of flames, melting all the ice she conjured up and dropped her. Kagome didn't move as she stared up at him. She was disappointed, that was her only way of beating him and she was now weak from using too much of her spiritual energy.

"Alright miko, this Saisei will help you on your journey." Kagome's head snapped up to look at him.

"But...Why? I didn't beat you." She asked him completely baffled.

"The test miko, wasn't to beat me. The test was courage and that you have in abundance. Take my stone and place it in the amulet. You will only need to say my name to summon me." He told her as he summoned a portal for her.

"What's your name?" Kagome asked as she got up and dusted herself off. He turned to look at her.

"My name is Saisei, miko." As soon as he said that he burst into flames.

Kagome slowly walked up to where he once stood and looked down. There on the ground was a beautiful deep red ruby. Picking it up, Kagome placed the ruby in one of the empty slots on the amulet. It glowed a bright red as it sealed itself to the amulet. As she watched it Kagome could feel a sudden burning in between her shoulder blades. The pain was immense but quickly faded. Shaking it off she made her way to the portal.

'I'll have to ask Midoriko about that.' With that thought she walked through the portal to do just that.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 4**

* * *

An: Thank you guys for reading! :D I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter Kagome is released from the jewel and starts her journey on finding the next Guardian! Until next time.

-PEACH


	5. A Rippled Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. Just a quick note, some of the details in the story are from around the same time as the feudal era, which is between the 1400's to 1600's. For the purpose of the story I have switched some things around and made them appear earlier than what they really were. Like the Taj Mahal, it was built in the mid 1600's but in the story it's earlier. Any way, I just wanted to make a note of that. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. :D

* * *

 **Chapter 5: A Rippled Soul**

* * *

The first thing Kagome saw was Midoriko standing up as she stepped out of the portal. They both watched as it swirled smaller and smaller before disappearing completely. Turning forward again, Kagome limped over to Midoriko and she helped Kagome sit down, taking in all the cuts and bruises. Kagome could tell the woman was nervous as she tried to hold her tongue to keep her self from blurting out questions. Her back was killing her, she could still feel the heat from the burning she experienced earlier after she picked up the ruby. So she continued to rub her shoulders to try and get rid of the burn. It didn't take long for Midoriko to notice the pained expression on her face and she knelt down.  
"Kagome what's wrong?" Kagome lightly hissed as Midoriko put her hands on her shoulders.

"My back, it burns. When I picked up Saisei's ruby I felt this intense burning in between my shoulder blades." Midoriko frowned as she got up and walked behind her, pulling the back of her collar down to have a look. Kagome heard a gasp and got worried.

"What is it? Midoriko what happened?" Kagome turned her head to try and look but she still couldn't see. There on Kagome's back, right over her spine was the runic symbol burned into her skin.

"You have a small rune symbol burned on your back." Midoriko said with a confused look on her face. Looking closer, Midoriko studied the glowing red symbol before pulling Kagome's collar back up. She walked over to one of the book shelves and pulled out a book on Viking Runes before walking over to sit in front of Kagome. She swiftly looked through the pages before stopping at one that had a drawing of the same symbol.

"It's the symbol of Kenaz. It represents Vision, revelation, creativity, and technical abilities but it is also the symbol of fire. I suppose that makes sense... he is the guardian of fire after all." Kagome nodded as she summoned her reiki to help soothe the burn, it still hurt like hell. She wasn't sure how she felt about being branded and frowned at the thought.

"Why was it burnt into my skin?" Midoriko was silent a moment as she thought about it but she wasn't sure either.

"I'm not sure, I don't recall reading of anything like this happening to the others who have summoned the guardians. It's something you will have to ask him yourself." Kagome nodded before asking her next question.

"Why didn't you tell me they are gods?" Midoriko frowned and shrugged.

"Would you not have gone if I told you? They are demi gods, not gods. If I remember right, he should be half god half Fenikkusu demon. He probably told you he was full god to intimidate you." Kagome sighed as she thought about it. It made sense, he tested her courage and what better way to do that than to intimidate her by saying he was a god.

"I see... So what happens now? Is it time to go back?" Midoriko nodded.

"Yes, but first I have a couple things to tell you about before you leave." Kagome nodded as Midoriko continued.

"First I would like to explain to you about the jewel. Kagome, now that the jewel is back into it's rightful place, you need to be careful. The Shikon gives you many gifts. One of these gifts is immortality, but that doesn't mean nothing can kill you. Mortal beings can't but gods, or those who are blessed with a gods power can. So be careful because just as the gods have chosen you to be their champion the god of death has chosen his own minions to aid him as well." Kagome could tell by the expression on Midoriko's face that she was very serious and nodded in agreement. She wasn't too happy about being immortal. Unlike some who wish for it, it wasn't something she wanted. The only good thing it gave her is the possibility to see her family in the future and that was only if she lived through this battle.

"The second thing is that you will now take on some demonic abilities. With the jewel being half holy and half demonic, you will have access to both. This is another thing you will need to be careful of. If you don't keep your powers in perfect balance they will fight each other. The more Guardians you have the easier it will be to control your powers. The only way you can completely control them on your own is when you get the rest of your soul back from the undead one."

"I see... I will seek Kikyo out as soon as I get back." Midoriko shook her head no, confusing Kagome.

"No Kagome, you will be very weak when you wake up. Plus it is going to be hard for you control your powers at first. The first thing you need to do is meditate to balance them, now that all your powers have been unsealed. You and Kikyo will cross paths again and when that happens you will be able to get the rest of your soul back." Kagome sighed but nodded. She should have killed the walking corpse long before this. As she thought of Kikyo and Inuyasha, hate burned into her veins. She had loved Inuyasha with everything in her heart. She had stood by his side and even thrown herself in danger for him only to receive nothing but hate in return. She was so foolish. She couldn't wait to come across them again. She will have her revenge. Shaking her head slightly, Kagome cleared her thoughts and brought her focus back to Midoriko.

"I will, I am ready to go back now." Midoriko studied her for a long moment before nodding.

"If you ever need us all you have to do is meditate and focus on this place." Kagome nodded as she stood up and gave Midoriko a hug.

"Thank you for everything Midoriko. Words could never be enough to express my gratitude for all your help." Midoriko smiled and hugged Kagome back.

"Just succeed Kagome... That will be enough." Kagome nodded before releasing her.

"Magatsuhi isn't fond of goodbyes so please excuse him." Kagome gave a small smile, she understood.

"Tell him I said goodbye." Midoriko nodded.

"Lay down Kagome and close your eyes." Kagome did as she was told, relaxing and completely clearing her mind. She heard Midoriko chant something softly and felt extremely tired. Midoriko's voice was sounding further and further away. Then nothing... the feeling of floating came back to her. She hadn't felt like this in so long, she forgot how peaceful it was.

Midoriko watched as Kagome's body started to fade away and a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Is she gone?" Magatsuhi asked so quietly that she almost didn't hear him.

"Yes..." Nothing more was said but they thought the same thing.

'Good luck and be strong Kagome'

* * *

Deep in the ocean's depths a glowing sphere pulsed once before it started to rise, carrying its precious package towards the surface. Almost a day has past since the woman had fallen and died. The sphere moved quickly heading South to a grotto that wasn't far from the beach. It would be safe enough for her to rest and recover. The sphere slowly placed the woman down on the cold stone ground before completely disappearing and she unconsciously placed a barrier at the mouth of the cave, preventing anyone from coming in.

The amulet around Kagome's neck started to glow a bright red before releasing Saisei. He stood tall over Kagome checking her for any injuries. Once satisfied, he left to gather some wood so he could start a fire for the miko. He heard her conversation with the one named Midoriko and knew they had a lot to talk about. It would be awhile before she woke up though so he figured that he might as well get some much needed things. He also wanted to stretch his legs as well. He hated to be cooped up. It's been about eight millennia since he was last summoned and the world had changed so drastically. He lost count on how many times the world has ended only for the gods to recreate the world again and start over. It gets tiring to be summoned over and over again with the only purpose of serving the one who had summoned you. He longed to be free of his chains and for once live his own life. He wondered what it would be like, pondered what he would do if it was ever granted. Saisei shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was foolish, he knew it would never happen.

Walking out onto the beach, he headed toward the forest to gather wood. He would hunt later when the miko started to wake up. After gathering enough he ventured back to the grotto and set the wood down in a pile, leaving a few pieces out. He placed those pieces in a pile close enough to the miko but not too close to hurt her, he snapped his fingers and the wood started to burn brightly. The miko, even though she is immortal, could still feel the cold from being wet. Plus she will be hungry when she wakes up, it would be best to have the fire going. Looking down at her he noticed her odd clothing. It was different from the ones he first saw her wear and they were very... revealing. He frowned, she needed a new set of clothes. He will not walk with her while she wears something so indecent.

Walking back out, he transformed into his true self but controlled his size. It wouldn't do him any good to fly around in his normal size, it would bring too much attention. So he made himself no bigger than a normal small bird. He quickly took to the sky, heading further South along the shore to find a village. It wasn't long before he came across a rather descent size village of demons along the coast. The village was big enough to have a port, only one ship was docked though. 'A trading port' He thought as he landed behind one of the huts before transforming back into his human form. Walking out from behind the hut he entered the village, ignoring the stares he got. Looking around, he couldn't help but think it was odd how the demons were of mixed races. The last time he was let out of hell things were vastly different. Demons normally stuck to their own kind and didn't intermingle with other clans. He also noticed how small everyone was. Demons used to be a lot bigger even in their human form. He quickly shrugged the thought off and continued on his current mission, to find the miko some descent clothing.

Saisei's attention was caught by a merchant who was loudly advertising his wares, claiming all his goods were from the most exotic places and urging everyone around him to come take a look. Walking closer, Saisei entered the hut along with a few females who took interest in the hawk's jewels and clothing. The clothing was indeed different than what the other demons around him were wearing. It wasn't long before he came across an odd outfit that he found interesting. It was a long black cloak made of a dragon's hide. Dragons were known for their tough skin and was extremely hard to cut or penetrate, only another dragon could have made this. It also came with a matching pair of pants and boots as well. Judging from the size it should fit the miko perfectly. Picking the set up he noticed another cloak but it was much bigger, the smaller pair was probably the left overs of this cloak. The only difference between the two was the larger one had no sleeves, cutting off right at the shoulders. He decided to grab that one for himself, it would be useful for hiding. Turning back around he noticed one of the females in the store hand the hawk some coins and cursed to himself. He forgot about the currency, since it was a different time he didn't have what was needed. Then he paused and shrugged. 'Oh well' He walked to the back of the hut and out of the hawk's sight, who was distracted by the giggling females. At the last minute he saw a dark brown satchel and stuffed everything in it before he quickly summoned some of his power and used his flame portal to teleport him out of town. Now while he wasn't a thief per say but he really didn't have a choice. The miko needed clothing. He quickly stripped himself of his red haori and pulled the cloak out and put it on, stuffing his red haori back in. He left it unbuttoned so it showed his chest and pulled up the hood to hide his identity. Once dressed he transformed and grabbed the satchel with his claws before heading back to the grotto.

Once through the miko's barrier, Saisei transformed back into his human form and set the satchel by the miko. He could tell by her breathing that it wouldn't be long before she woke up so he left the cave again to go hunt. It wasn't long before he came across a deer and killed it. Taking it to a near by stream he gutted and cleaned his kill before taking it back to the miko. Setting the deer by the fire, he quickly skinned it and cut it into smaller chunks so it would cook quicker for the miko and spiked them on a stick to cook them. It was about this time when he noticed the sun going down and the only thing lighting the cave was the fire he had built. That was when he started to notice the miko's breathing increasing and patiently waited for her to wake up.

Kagome could feel a heat licking at her skin and the smell of cooked meat entered her nose. Her stomach was demanding food and it was forcing her to open her eyes. Everything was blurry at first so she blinked a couple of times to clear them. Turning her head slightly, she noticed Saisei sitting on the other side of the fire. She slowly tried to sit up but her body was protesting. Everything was too cold and stiff so it took a couple tries before she succeeded.

"How long was I asleep for?" Saisei waited a couple minutes before answering.

"About ten hours." Kagome yawned as she nodded. She didn't think she would sleep so long.

"Where are we?" Saisei shrugged.

"I believe we are somewhere on the Western coast." Kagome nodded again kind of feeling awkward. Her past experience with this 'demi god' wasn't a good one.

"The food is almost ready. In the mean time I have acquired some clothing for you. It's in the satchel next to you. You need to change out of the wet clothing you are wearing before you get sick." Kagome looked down next to her and saw the satchel.

"Can I get sick now that I'm immortal?" She saw Saisei shrug.

"I don't know but I don't want to find out either. We have a long journey ahead of us and we need to get moving as soon as you are able." Kagome nodded, she too wanted to leave. She really didn't want to be in Japan right now. Thinking of her 'old friends' a thought came to her. She needed her yellow bag. She couldn't leave that here for anyone to find. She still had a bunch of books from her time in there. She remembered that she left it in the forest on the cliff but she had no idea where that was.

"I need my yellow bag but I don't know how to get it from here." Saisei looked at her weird.

"The bag is not important, you have the satchel to use now." Kagome sighed.

"The bag isn't important, what's in the bag is. I really need it." Saisei gave her a blank stare before he too gave out a sigh.

"Fine, I will go get the bag. While I do this you need to change into the new clothing I got you." Kagome nodded quickly and opened the bag, pulling everything out. It was then when it accrued to her that he didn't know where it was. She looked up to tell him but he was already gone. Shrugging, she figured he would be back shortly to ask her.

Looking at the clothing in her hands, she studied them. They felt like leather but looking closer at it she could see what looked like little black scales all over it. She wondered what the clothing was made of before slowly getting up and undressing herself. She took everything off except her bra and panties. Picking up the pants first, she put them on but quickly noticed how uncomfortable they were with her panties on. Kagome frowned before taking the pants off along with her underwear than pulled the pants back on. She was going to have to face the fact that her bra and panties were going to have to go. She couldn't make them last over the next 500 years. The pants now fit more comfortably so she bent down to put on the boots. She was actually amazed that Saisei got her size just right. Standing straight again, Kagome took off her bra and picked up her cloak. She studied it for a moment before putting it on. There was only three belt buckles that tied it together. One was across the middle of her breast and the other two were right below it. The leather pushed her breast together showing a little bit of cleavage but thankfully not too much. The last buckle ended right above her naval, showing her toned stomach. Her pant too were held in place by a belt. The boots gave her an extra three inches in height and Kagome thanked her mother for all the times she made her wear heals. Kagome pulled the hood up and walked around the cave a little bit, trying to get use to the clothing. For the most part she was pretty comfortable in it, and it was a hell of a lot warmer than her old school uniform. It was about that time when Saisei walked back into the cave with her yellow bag in his hand.

"How did you know where to find it?" Kagome asked him, completely confused.

"By viewing your memories." He answered back with a shrug. Kagome blushed, she didn't like that he could do that. She had some very private thoughts and memories that she didn't want to share with him of all people. She looked back at him when she heard him sigh.

"Stop worrying, I'm not going to go snooping around in your head. I will only do it when I need too." Some how that really didn't make Kagome feel a whole lot better but she nodded anyway.

"Thank you... And thank you for the clothes too." Saisei nodded as he looked her over. It fit her perfectly like he knew it would and nodded his approval.

Kagome picked up her bag and began to take everything out. She couldn't take all this with her it would be too dangerous, so she had to get rid of it. Taking all her text books out, she began to tear the pages out and throw them in the fire one by one. It wasn't until she got to her Geology book that a thought crossed her mind. She slowly and gently tore the two pages of the map of the world out and set them aside. She could use that on her journey. After all the books were reduced to ashes she began to rummage through her bag again. The only things she was going to take with her was her toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, razors and her body soap... Everything else she burned, even the bag itself along with her old clothes. Once Kagome was done putting everything she was taking with her in the satchel she decided it was time to eat. Grabbing one of the spikes with meat on it, she sat down again happily munching on the meat. She was so hungry it wasn't even funny. After consuming the first chunk of meat Kagome grabbed a second stick and begun to ask Saisei questions that have been swirling around her mind.

"Why was I branded?" Saisei opened his eyes and looked at the miko oddly.

"When I picked up your ruby I got a symbol burned into my back, I believe Midoriko called it the symbol of Kenaz." Kagome said and noticed there was amusement that shown in his eyes. Saisei had to suppress a chuckle. 'Branded indeed!' He had never heard anyone call it that before.

"It is what links us together... You will get one from all the Guardians, should you pass their test. It will enable you to draw on our powers and abilities for as long as we are in your service." Kagome didn't like that word. 'Service' It made her feel uncomfortable. He made it sound like they were her slaves.

"I don't like that word... I don't want you to be a slave." Saisei gave her a look of surprise.

"That's what we are Miko. None of us are Guardians willingly." Kagome started to feel bad. She wanted them as friends not slave.

"Is their a way to free you?" Saisei couldn't believe what he was hearing. No one had ever ask about freeing him before. He quickly squashed the feeling of hope though, even if she wanted to there was no way she could.

"The only way I know of is if the gods see fit to free us." Kagome looked down at the piece of meat in her hands. That had to be horrible. To live but your life is not your own. Determination coursed through her at that thought. She will find a way, she will free them if it's the last thing she does... and if she can't then she will keep them with her and try to let them live a life the best they could.

"I will find a way...I promise." Saisei refused to let the hope seep into him but for the first time since meeting the miko he was happy that she had passed.

"Do not make promises you can not keep Miko. The gods will never allow it because their will always be a war to be fought." Kagome ignored him and continued to eat her piece of meat as if he never said anything.

"What did you mean by drawing on your powers and abilities?" She asked once she was finished eating.

"By us being linked together your power of fire has increased by ten folds. It is something that I am going to have to train you in harnessing so you don't lose control over it. That magic diagram that you used on me during our fight will no longer be needed to summon fire, neither will any chants you know of. You will now be able to call on it at will. As for my abilities, I have three of them that I will soon teach to you. The first is called Meteosutoraiku, when summoned it rains balls of fire from the sky striking your enemies. The second ability is called Jigoku No Hi, this will summon the flames of hell from the ground burning all those around you. The final ability is the Hono Potaru, this ability will engulf you in flames and make you disappear before reappearing in a different location." Kagome's mouth dropped... She had to learn all of that! This was going to be a long journey. Kagome could already feel the headache it will cause.

"We will not be focusing on that until we start traveling." Kagome sighed with relief and nodded in agreement.

"Ok so how does the amulet work? Midoriko said it is suppose to guide us to the next Guardian but so far it hasn't done anything."

"You will need to meditate on it. Once you do it will show you the location of the next book." Kagome nodded and picked up the amulet that hung around her neck. Closing her eyes, she began to clear her mind and focused on the power coming from it. Slowly images started to appear across her mind. First she saw a pool of water in the middle of a jungle that had short eared elephants bathing in it. The next image was of a village of demons, they looked sick and weary but she looked closely at their clothing. Recognizing the clothing immediately, Kagome knew where her next location was... The next image only confirmed it, the Taj Mahal stood tall and so beautiful that Kagome gave a small gasp in awe. slowly opening her eyes she looked at Saisei.

"India... The next book is in India." Saisei nodded.

"There is a trading ship docked at a village about a days walk from here. We will leave as soon as your well enough. For now you need to rest." Kagome gave another big yawn and nodded her head in agreement. Laying down, she used her satchel as a pillow and Saisei's red haori as a blanket. Kagome started to slowly drift off. Her thoughts clouded on what she saw from the amulet. 'Why were the demons so sick? They looked like they were dying... And who was that man in the background behind them?' Far in the right corner of the image, Kagome could see an outline of a man cloaked in darkness watching with satisfaction over the suffering demons and a chill went up her spine. With that last puzzling thought Kagome finally fell asleep.

The next couple days went by pretty fast for Kagome. Her strength slowly returning to her but she felt like she could continue on her journey. She was eager to get moving, the image of the demon village wouldn't leave her mind. There was something so sinister about that man and it made her want to get there as quickly as possible. They left the cave the day before and were now setting up camp in the forest near by. Kagome and Saisei agreed that they would leave the next morning and head to the village he found a couple days ago. After eating the boar Saisei hunted, Kagome laid down to rest. She wasn't really all that tired since she didn't need a lot of sleep, only when she has depleted her reiki is when she really needed it. So she stayed up all night gazing at the stars, naming all the constellations she knew of til the sun began to peak over the horizon. She looked over at Saisei and noticed his eyes were still closed but knew he wasn't sleeping, he was probably waiting on her to give the orders to pack up camp. Getting up and dusting herself off, Kagome decided she was going to take a bath first. She hasn't had one since she woke up and she didn't want to continue until she did.

"Saisei, we will pack up camp as soon as I'm done with my bath." He nodded in understanding and got up himself to stretch before packing everything up anyway, it gave him something to do. God knows he was bored out of his mind. Kagome grabbed her satchel before heading to the river near by. It would have to do since there wasn't any hot springs around.

As Kagome started walking towards the river she began to feel weird. A feeling of dizziness took over and she felt slightly flushed. Shaking her head she tried to push the feeling back and continued to move forward. Maybe it was a good thing that it was a river, she was starting to heat up. She figured it was the untamed fire that she hadn't mastered yet. They haven't started her training on it, they both agreed to wait until they got to China first. Kagome finally stumbled by the river and began to swiftly take off her clothes. So consumed with her need to cool herself off, Kagome made a very deadly mistake... Forgetting about Midoriko's warning about the amulet, Kagome quickly and without thinking took the amulet off and threw it to the side on top of her clothes. The burning she had felt before increase and became a hundred times worse. She felt like she was burning in a inferno and gasped. The pain that consumed her body made her scream out and double over. Falling to her knees, Kagome tried to breathe. It was then that she remembered about all the warnings. The jewel and how the demonic energies would fight her reiki. The meditation that she was suppose to do to control them. And finally the amulet that she was never suppose to take off and she did! Panic started to set in and Kagome reached desperately for the amulet but she couldn't reach it. Tears were running down her face as the pain pumped through her system. She could feel her nails grow into sharp talons, her canine teeth grow into sharp points and her ears shifted to look more demonic. The youkai in the jewel started to take over and her reiki responded to the threat, growing more and more out of control until Kagome could feel it pulsing in her veins. Opening her eyes, they were completely taken over by a pink haze that glowed brightly. She couldn't take the power anymore and with a final scream all the pent up power was released, spreading out for miles destroying every demonic thing in its path. She could feel it, every demonic soul her powers touched and destroyed and it made her cry harder. She couldn't stop it! No matter how much she tried to bring it all back in. With one last pulse of power Kagome collapsed, not able to handle it anymore and she fell unconscious.

Saisei felt her powers rising first but thought that it was from his fire that now coursed through her veins. It wasn't until he heard her blood curdling scream that made him panic and race after her. He found her hunched over by the river pulsing with power as tears ran down her pained face. Her reiki burned but he was able to push past the pain and slowly make his way to her. Once he was close enough he noticed the gold amulet lying on the ground and cursed. Quickly he pushed himself harder to reach for it and as soon as he had it in his grasp he heard her give out one last horrifying scream before falling unconscious. Out of reflex he caught her with one arm before she hit the ground and quickly put the amulet back around her neck. The damage was already done though. Her powers were felt for miles in all directions. He had to get her out of here and fast. It wouldn't be long before someone would come looking for the one who caused this. He quickly gathered her things and dressed her. Grabbing her satchel, he stood up with her in his arms. They didn't need anything back at the camp so he left it. He summoned a massive amount of his powers and used his flame portal to teleport them right outside the port village.

Everyone was in a panic. They all felt the power but were just barely out of it's range. He quickly pushed past all the demons that were running around and made his way to the merchant ship. He glanced to his left and noticed the shop he had entered a couple days ago was missing it's owner, he too no doubt was in a panic somewhere in the large village. Without a second thought Saisei raced towards it and entered the shop. Setting Kagome down gently on one of the tables he grabbed her satchel and stuffed it with as many jewels and jewelry he could find. They would need it to buy their passage on the ship to the mainland. Once he had everything he needed Saisei picked Kagome back up and carried her out the door, heading to the ship. Running to the dock he quickly approached the ship that was getting ready to take off and make sail. He saw a panda youkai on the ship and called to him.

"Wait! We need passage." Saisei watched as the panda turned and glared at him.

"I do not carry passengers on my ship. You will have to wait for the next one." The panda grunted and went to turn away.

"I will make it worth your while." The panda turned and raise an eyebrow at Saisei in question. Saisei quickly opened the satchel wide enough for the panda to see all the jewels inside and the panda's eyes widened.

"Well I suppose I can make an exception this one time. Come good sir, quickly. We must leave." Saisei nodded and used his strength to jump aboard.

"Do you have bedding that I can lay her down in?" The panda nodded and Saisei followed him inside the ships cabin to a large pile of hay with a thick cloth over it. The panda made a gesture towards it and Saisei laid Kagome down, letting her rest. Once his arms were free, Saisei walked over to the panda and grabbed two large handfuls of jewels and jewelry before handing them to the panda.

"That should be enough." The greedy Panda nodded excitedly in agreement and went to hide his new treasures, leaving Saisei and Kagome alone. Sitting down on the floor, Saisei pulled his hood down revealing his face and sighed. He know from the first time he looked at Kagome that she was going to be trouble. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought because if he was honest with himself which he was, he liked the excitement she would bring. With that last thought in mind Saisei closed his eyes and decided to rest. He used up a lot of his energy to teleport them here. The ships rocking made it easy for him to fall asleep as it slowly sailed away from Japan.

* * *

About twelve days had past since they left Japan heading for China. Kagome woke up on the fourth day after the incident but rarely talked. Saisei could feel the guilt rolling off her in waves and her silence was starting to worry him. He tried to get her to talk about it but she would just silently stare out into the ocean. The only noise he heard from her was her quiet cries at night as she mourned all those that she killed. Kagome knew she was falling into depression but she couldn't help it. Midoriko had warned her and she stupidly forgot the warnings, and others paid the price for it. She remembered feeling all the souls her reiki touched, she felt all 463 of them. The worst were the children, there were 48 children that lost their lives and it was slowly killing her that she was responsible for cutting it so short. She knew the feeling of losing a child because she lost her Shippo and as each day passed she fell deeper and deeper.

They found out that Jin, the panda youkai, liked to talk very much. He would tell them all about the places he has been to and of all the things he has seen. He talked about his mate and daughter the most though. Kagome and Saisei only listened with one ear as he prattled on and on during the journey. It wasn't until he mentioned about all the demons in China dying off by a mysterious curse that was left after a dark stranger passed though that made Kagome turn her head and stare at him. Saisei noticed this and urged Jin to continue. Jin started to describe the stranger and the curse that had left about 75% of China's demons dead. No one could figure out why they were slowly dying and none of their females could reproduce anymore to make up for the lost numbers. It had started about 20 years ago and now the numbers were so low that they didn't think they would survive another 10 years. He also informed them that it wasn't just China either, it was happening everywhere. Some of the smaller countries have already been wiped out or what little demons were left ventured to a different country in hopes of finding a cure but nothing has been found. Once he was done Kagome turned back to watch the ocean's waves and tried to think of what could possible take out the demon race. Was this why there was no demons in her time? This mysterious curse began to take over her mind giving her something more to think about other than the souls that she took.

On the fourteenth day is when they finally docked in China and it was also the first time Kagome said a word since the incident in Japan.  
"Jin, I would like to see the demons in your village. I wish to examine the curse you talked about a couple days ago." Jin gave her a suspicious look before glancing at Saisei. He had been uneasy around Kagome ever since he found out she was a Miko. With the panic that happened at the port village from the reiki they all felt, he nearly had a fit. Saisei had calmed him down, lying to him saying she had nothing to do with it and he was trying to get her away so she wouldn't be blamed for it. Jin had bought it but Kagome had felt even more guilty lying to him about it. But she understood that it was necessary and they needed to continue on their journey so she kept her mouth shut.

Jin nodded and they followed him as he left the docks. Looking around Kagome noticed there to only be maybe 50 demons at the most. They were what was left in China. The demons were of all different races. Pandas, foxes, wolves, rabbits, deer, horses, and snakes just to name a few that she could see. As Kagome walked through the town behind Jin and Saisei, she saw movement to her right and quickly looked. Sitting in a dark alley was a small girl, who looked no older than 5 years old, crouched down in the dirt and Kagome stopped and stared at her. She could tell by her long brown wilted ears that she was a rabbit youkai. Her lilac ruqun dress was all muddy making it stick to her sickly form. Jin stopped and turned to see what Kagome was staring at. He told her that Mei was the last demon child born before all the females stopped reproducing and that she has always been sick.

Slowly Kagome approached the little girl and knelt down before her. Little Mei weakly scurried back against the wall, frightened of the reiki she could feel but Kagome lightly hushed her before humming a soothing tune to calm her down. Slowly she sat down and opened her arms beckoning the child to come to her. Everyone around watched Kagome and the child, some whispering their fears to others. Slowly little Mei looked up at Kagome and stared at her hood, it was then that Kagome realized what Mei was so afraid of. Kagome reached up and pulled her hood down before giving Mei a sweet smile. Mei slowly crawled to Kagome and she picked her up gently and sat her in her lap. Wrapping her arms around her she started to rock Mei back and forth humming softly. Once the child was relaxed Kagome gently brought her reiki forth to examine the little girl. Mei jumped but Kagome quickly soothed her with soft words about how pretty she was and that she was going to try and make her sickness go away. When Mei was calm again Kagome's reiki gently entered the little girl looking for the dark curse and it didn't take her long to find it, it was right in the center of her soul slowly drawing it in. Focusing on her reiki Kagome closed her eyes and imagined pink tendrils of her power wrapping around the curse, once fully secured in her reiki she started to draw it out of the little girl bringing it into her own body where she could purify it. When the last bit was out of Mei she felt Mei slump against her and started to panic. But Kagome noticed something weird inside her, something that didn't belong to her. Examining it further Kagome realized it was part of Mei's soul, the part that the curse was taking from her. Quickly Kagome focused back on Mei and noticed she was still breathing but barely. She needed to act quickly, so again she brought her reiki forward and gently reconnected Mei soul back together. Looking down she noticed that Mei was breathing normally again, actually she was breathing better than has ever had before. Her skin was skill ashy so Kagome use her reiki to heal her a little bit more until her skin turned a healthy pink and Mei continued to sleep peacefully.

Kagome heard yelling coming from the crowd and looked up to see two rabbit youkai approaching her looking fearful. Getting up quickly Kagome slowly walked towards the two that she figured were Mei's parents, the movement startled Mei and she opened her eyes looking around. Looking down at Mei the little girl smiled at her before calling to her parents. Kagome handed Mei over to them and told them that she will be fine and she is no longer sick. It was at that moment when Kagome realized what she could do to redeem herself. For every soul she had taken she would save another, better yet she was determined to save them all. The demons looked at Kagome in awe and hope quickly spread through the crowd as they surrounded the miko giving her praises. Soon every demon in town was gathered around, the news of the miko and her healing abilities reached them quickly. One by one Kagome healed every demon there. It took about 5 days before Kagome healed the last one. The demons insisted they give her things that she would need on her journey. After hearing her promise to do all she could to save them they sent out messengers to quickly spread news of the miko and her gifts.

* * *

After spending a week in the little demon town, Kagome and Saisei decided to continue their journey to India. They had traveled for months, following the Silk Road into India. During the journey Saisei began to train Kagome on how to tame the fire that now flowed through her and teaching her all his abilities, making her practice them everyday once they set up camp for the night. She had a few mishaps but she was a quick learner and after a couple months she had them mastered. So now she spent her days sparing with him so she wouldn't get rusty with her weapons. Saisei had come to enjoy these sparing sessions greatly, it was fun to tease the little miko that he was starting to grow fond of.

On the 6th month of their journey they finally came across the village that Kagome saw from the amulet. Slowly they approached the village but was stopped when a large tiger youkai blocked their path. His voice was deep as he gave a growl of warning. Ever since they knew of their next location Saisei had also decided to teach her how to speak Hindi. She had already knew Chinese sense it was one of the languages she took in school. Apparently Saisei knew how to speak every language because he has lived so long and the gods continued to teach the same people the same language every time they recreated them. So when the tiger finally spoke Kagome didn't need any help with translations.

"Who are you? What is your purpose here?" The tiger glared at the two but he looked closely at Kagome.

"We mean no one any harm. We just wish to replenish our supplies." Kagome said softly as she tried to look around the bulky tiger to see the others in the village. She could tell that they too were very sick but they had greater numbers than China did. If she had to guess there was about 200 youkai here. 'This is going to take me awhile to heal everyone.' Kagome noticed a beautiful woman with long white hair and bright blue eyes staring at her intently. The woman was wearing a stunning silver saris with a dark blue choli underneath it. Her Lehenga was pure white and the dupatta she had draped over her head was the same shade of sheer blue to match her choli. Her face wasn't hidden from Kagome so she noticed the black stripes across her cheeks immediately and knew her to be a tiger youkai as well... Correction, a white tiger. She watched as she slowly walked towards her, her eyes never leaving Kagome's.

"Mate, I believe this is the priestess everyone is talking about." Her mate looked back at Kagome studying her to see if it was true. The Tigress gently grabbed Kagome's chin and tilted her face up the get a better look.

"See, she has blue eyes. The messenger said the priestess with the ability to heal us has jet black hair, bright blue eyes and wears a strange cloak." Letting go of Kagome the Tigress looked at her mate and smiled.

"She is finally here, come little priestess. Pay no mind to my mate. These are trying times and he is over protective with good reasons." Kagome let herself be dragged off by the friendly female but gave Saisei a quick glance before disappearing around a corner.

"This one apologizes, my mate has been looking forward to your priestess's arrival. This one is called Durai. I am the leader of what is left of the demons in India. My mate is Lady Esha." Lord Durai said as he gave a bow in greeting.

"My name is Saisei and the priestess goes by the name of Kagome." Saisei gave a polite bow in return feeling a little awkward. Lord Durai quickly turned around and beckoned Saisei to follow him. He led him to the center of the large village and found Kagome in the center of all the children, smiling and laughing at their tricks and giggles. Lady Esha was sitting next to her holding her own cubs laughing along with them. He shouldn't be surprised to find Kagome in the middle of attention. She draws people to her like moths to a flame. He watched as she began to start her healing process on the children first before moving on to the women then the men.

It took a better part of a month before Kagome completely healed everyone but even after that Kagome was reluctant to leave. She had grown fond of the village and the children had stolen her heart. She quickly adapted to the way of life here. She loved that she wasn't hated or feared like she was back at home. Saisei decided that they should stay for a few years to give Kagome a break. It was the first time he has seen her so happy and thought it would do her some good after everything she has been through. The villager gave her a couple of lehenga cholies to wear, gifts of their gratitude. Most days you could find her talking to the demonesses by the water pool while they watched the children play in the water with the elephants. Kagome also got her nose pierced as well, the demonesses talking her into it since she was the only female here without one but no one told her the real reason. In Hindu religion, a pierced noses meant that the woman is of age to mate. They also decided to give her a bindi and placed a small blue jewel that was shaped as a tear drop right in between her brows, the jewel was to give her protection. That was when Kagome discovered the pink symbol on her forehead of the Shikon Jewel. All the females begged to hear of her journey and Kagome humored them with small tidbits. But what Kagome really wanted was a tattoo, the tattoo's the other females had were beautiful, most were on their hands and feet in beautiful designs. So she decided to get one on each hand but the design she drew out had a magic diagram hidden in both designs so now she wouldn't have to constantly draw them up anymore. Before Kagome knew it ten years had passed and Saisei reluctantly told Kagome that they had to go. They still had all the books to find. After saying her tearful goodbyes, Kagome and Saisei headed to the city of Agra, it was where they would find the Taj Mahal.

Looking up at the huge beautiful white building, Kagome couldn't help but gasp as she walked towards it. The closer she got the brighter her amulet grew, she was almost there. Once both were standing in the middle of the giant mausoleum, the amulet started to hum but looking around Kagome didn't see any books any where. It wasn't until she looked down when it occurred to her, she was standing on top of it. She had remembered reading about the Taj Mahal and knew there to be a lower tomb where the Mughal emperor housed his most beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. That must be where it was at but how did she get there? The flame portal! Kagome quickly looked around to see if anyone was close before telling Saisei about her plan to use the flame portal. Nodding his head, they both took a deep breath before disappearing in the flames. When Kagome opened her eyes again it was pitch black. Raising her hand, palm facing up she summoned a flame in her palm, it flickered and swayed but didn't go out. Looking around the room Kagome noticed that it was a treasure chamber that held all the emperor's closest possessions. Spotting a gold chest, Kagome quickly walked towards it. Kneeling she quickly opened the chest and found the next book glowing brightly. Standing she walked back to Saisei and showed him.

"The Hamon No Sho" He said with an irritated grunt. "lovely" Kagome gave him a confused look.

"Soooo do you want to explain to me why your not happy to see the lovely Book of Ripples?" Kagome asked sarcastically.

"You will soon find out, trust me." Kagome shook her head before sitting down and reading the chant out loud, summoning the portal. Standing back up, Kagome dusted herself off and looked back at Saisei to see if he was ready but he shook his head no.

"What's wrong?" Kagome ask him a little worried.

"Kagome, I can't go with you. This is something you have to do on your own." Kagome looked down nervously but nodded.

"What if I don't pass?" Her head snapped up when she heard him laugh.

"You will be fine, trust me. Just stay calm and you will be alright." He winked at her and gave her a smile. Kagome couldn't help but give him a small smile in return before nodding and turning to face the portal. Giving Saisei one last look she took a deep breath and walked through the portal.

* * *

All Kagome saw when she stepped out of the portal was an endless blue ocean. Confused she looked around her but there was no land in sight. Quickly looking down Kagome gasped in amazement and took a couple more steps watching her feet create ripples along the water she was standing on. Giving a small smile she bent down to run her hand through the water watching it glide straight through it before bringing her wet hand back up to study it. She had no idea how this was possible but it was the neatest thing she has ever experienced. Looking back down Kagome was about to run her hand through the water again but a very large shadow swam under her making her jump and take a couple steps back. Looking all around her Kagome followed the large beast with her eyes and started to grow nervous. 'Just stay calm, Saisei said I'll be alright if I just stay calm!' Kagome frantically thought herself as she watched the beast's shimmering fins break the surface and circle her before disappearing again. The water was still, too still for Kagome's liking. So naturally Kagome screamed when the beast's head broke the surface suddenly. Kagome watched as the beast continued to rise straight up, watching it's head followed by it's very long neck... It wasn't until it started to coil around her that Kagome noticed it was a Sea dragon, or also known as a sea serpent. It's head was of a dragon but it's body was of a snake. The large head looked down at Kagome and stared at her a few seconds before uncoiling and diving back down into the ocean's depths. As the dragon dived Kagome noticed it started to glow a bright blue right above the water and by the time the tail disappeared the glowing orb started to dim revealing a young girl around the age of 14.

Kagome mouth fell open as she stared at the girl. That was NOT what she was expecting. The young smiled at Kagome and tilted her head to side, making her long sky blue pigtails sway with her movements. Her eyes were a deep blue that matched her kimono and fans perfectly. 'No, not fans... Tessens.' Kagome thought as looked at the bladed fans that the girl held playfully. The girl suddenly skipped over to Kagome and she tensed up not knowing what she would do. The girl was about 5'0 making her six inches smaller than Kagome.

"Hello, This one is named Misuto! What's your name?" Kagome gave the girl a strange look before for answering.

"Ummm... My name is Kagome." The girl giggled and clapped her hands together in glee.

"Oh wonderful! You can be This Misuto's new friend! It's been so long since This One has had a friend! It has been very lonely!" The girl squealed as she dragged Kagome to sit down. This was going to be a long hour! Kagome had know idea how right she was.

45 Minutes had passed and Kagome was now lying on her back staring up at the sky. She drowned out the girls prattle long ago... This girl talked about EVERYTHING she could possibly think of. Looking back at it now Kagome had to laugh, this is what she was so afraid of...And what Saisei dreaded!

"I KNOW! I thought it was funny too but the others didn't. They were so mean to Misuto, if only onesan was with Misuto she would..." Kagome went back to drowning her voice out again. She just couldn't keep up with the girl, it was making her head spin and time was running out. Just stay calm Kagome. Now she knew what Saisei really meant.

"Kagome-san would you be this Misuto's friend?" Kagome sat up and looked at the blue haired girl in front of her before sighing and giving her a smile. Yes the girl could talk your ear off but there was a sweetness about her no one could deny and with that thought she nodded.

"Yes Misuto, I would love to be your friend." Misuto gave her a long hard stare, looking her in the eyes for what seemed like forever before giving a big smile.

"Ok This Misuto will give you her stone as a token of my friendship!" Kagome laughed and gave the girl a big smile. She just couldn't help it, she reminded her of little Rin.

She watched as Misuto turned a bright blue before disappearing, leaving a beautiful Sapphire hovering above the water. Smiling Kagome picked it up and watched it seal itself into the amulet. Kagome could feel a cold tingle right below Saisei's symbol and knew Misuto added her own. Looking around Kagome gave one last smile before heading towards the portal.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 5**

* * *

*Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter Kagome will head off to find the 3rd Guardian and will run into some trouble on the way! Until next time! ;p

-PEACH


	6. A Dark Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. Ok so I got a lot of OCs in this story so at the beginning of the chapter I will have a list so it is easier to keep track. Well I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter.

* * *

 **Original Characters**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

* * *

 **Chapter 6: A Dark Soul**

* * *

Kagome walked through the portal to see Saisei looking through all the treasures that were scattered through out the room. She gave him a small smile when he turned to look at her.

"I see you were able to with stand the little twit and her non stop chatter. The brat could bore a god to death if she really wanted to, so congratulations on your... victory." He said with a smirk and a small chuckle. Kagome was about to say something back but before she could the amulet glowed a bright blue and Misuto appeared right next to her.

"SAISEI!" Misuto squealed as she raced to latch herself around his right leg, much to Saisei dreaded horror.

"I've missed you Saisei! It's been so long since I last seen you! Did you miss me too?!" Misuto squealed and hugged him tighter. Saisei shifted and tried to disentangle himself from Misuto's grasp without success. He cleared his throat and you could tell he was uncomfortable.

"Misuto! Let go!" He said in a harsh whisper as he tried to shake her off his leg but she just squeezed him tighter. Misuto looked up at him with watery eyes and a small pout.

"Did you not miss this Misuto at all Saisei?! Are you still mad at me from the last war?!" Saisei sighed and gave Kagome a pleading look. Kagome didn't know what to make of the twos interaction and shrugged her shoulders. Sighing again, Saisei finally detached Misuto from his leg and picked her up before making her stand on her feet.

"No, that's all in the past. Do try and keep your hands to yourself though, I do not wish to be touched by you... And PLEASE, no more SQUEALING! Your going to make my ears bleed!" He hissed out and crossed his arms over his chest before glaring at her. Misuto gasped and glared back at him. Kagome just looked between the two with wide eyes, she had a feeling that shit was about to hit the fan and slowly backed away from the two.

"You are! You're still mad at me! And I bet if it was onee-chan hugging you then you wouldn't mind! But you know, she wouldn't be happy if she knew you were being mean to me." Misuto said with as much attitude that she could muster and placed her hands on her hips.

"I would too mind! I want nothing to do with you and your sister!" Misuto raised her eyebrow at him and said "Uh huh, sure you don't." The light blush on his cheeks gave him away easily. Misuto shook her head in mock disappointment before turning to Kagome. She motioned for Kagome to come closer and put her hand up to hide her mouth like she was getting ready to tell her a secret but her very loud whisper gave away her intention and she made sure Saisei could hear her too.

"He's still mad because I was able to put out his great flames in the last war. It took him an hour before he could use his fire again." Misuto giggled and Kagome had a hard time suppressing her laugh as well. Just the picture of Saisei in his true form completely soaked was far too amusing. She could see his disgruntled look very clearly.

"You know what, laugh all you want! If I remember correctly you didn't last long in that fight. Matter in fact you were the first one taken out." Misuto wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off his face.

"Well as interesting as this is, I think we should get out of here. We can continue this outside." Misuto and Saisei just glared at each other, neither one wanting to back down. Kagome gave a sigh and shook her head.

"Come on you two, we need to get going. I would like to find a place to set up camp before dark." Kagome decided to end the staring contest for them and stepped in between the two, forcing them to look at her instead. Saisei sighed before nodding his head in agreement and was about to use his flame portal when he caught Misuto out of the corner of his eye leaning around Kagome and sticking her tongue out at him. Giving a deep growl, he was about to show the little brat a lesson in respect but Kagome had put her hand on Misuto's shoulder and teleported them out of the Taj Mahal.

The three of them landed in a small clearing outside of Agra. Kagome looked around and decided this was suitable to set up camp for now. It was almost dark so she needed to hurry and gather some wood for a fire. Looking around Kagome caught Saisei and Misuto locked in another staring contest and sighed.

"Do I really need to separate you two? I'll do it if I have too." Both of them turned to look at Kagome but backed down when they saw her glaring at them. Saisei just rolled his eyes and sat down while Misuto huffed and walked off into the forest. Kagome shook her head before taking off to go gather some wood. When she finally returned she stacked the wood in a pile and summoned a flame to get the wood burning. It was a couple more minutes before Misuto join them with 3 fish in one hand and 3 long sticks in the other. Walking to the fire she knelt down and prepared the fish before putting them out to cook.

"So how many Guardians do you have now Kagome?" Kagome looked over at Misuto and gave her an odd look.

"Just you and Saisei." Misuto nodded before she asked her next question.

"How many does Akuma's champion have?" Kagome looked at her weird, not having a clue as to what she was talking about.

"Uhhh... I don't know. Who's Akuma?" Misuto gave her a puzzled look before glaring over at Saisei.

"Did you not tell her anything?!" Saisei glared back at her, her squealing was getting on his last nerve.

"I did not see the need to introduce the dark god by his name. He hasn't made his appearance yet and neither has his chosen champion. We don't know if he has succeeded in gathering any guardians."

"Well do you guys know were the next book is at?" Saisei and Kagome both shook their head no.

"I was about to use the amulet to see." Misuto smiled and turned towards Kagome.

"I hope it's onee-chan!" She clapped her hands together and anxiously waited for Kagome to get the amulet out.

Picking up the amulet, Kagome concentrated on her reiki and pushed it into the amulet. After a couple minutes she started to see some images. The first one was of a snow covered forest. The second was of another youkai village in a frightful disarray and the last one was of a brightly colored building. Kagome recognized it immediately. The domes of the building were unmistakable and there was only one building, or rather, cathedral in world like it. It was the Saint Basil's Cathedral. Meaning that the next book was located in Moscow, Russia.

"The next book is in Russia." Kagome said as she opened her eyes and smiled at Misuto.

"Did it give you any clue to who the next guardian is?" Misuto asked with excitement and Kagome could see the hope shinning in her eyes. She shook her head no and Misuto pouted.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy." Kagome hated to disappoint her but it couldn't be helped.

Kagome grabbed her satchel and rummaged through it until she found her map. Setting her bag aside, she skimmed over it and tried to figure out the easiest route to take to get Moscow. She was grateful that she had ripped out the map that had all the major cities marked on it, it made everything a lot easier to find. Kagome was so consumed with the map that she didn't noticed Misuto riffling through her bag until she heard her squeal in excitement.

"Kagome! What's this?! It's sooo pretty! Can I wear it?! Please, please, please!" She quickly looked over at Misuto only to have a deep blue cloth shoved in her face. Taking it from her hands, Kagome looked it see what she found. It was her deep blue lehenga choli, She remembered that this one was rather small on her but didn't want to part with the gift. Looking around Kagome saw all her stuff scattered around and sighed.

"Misuto! Stop going through other's personal things. Nothing in there is for you." Saisei reprimanded and glared at her, only to have Misuto glare at him back.

"It's fine, she can have it. It doesn't even fit me any way." Misuto squealed and hugged the dress to her chest. She got up and stuck her tongue out at Saisei before running off into the forest to change. Kagome just shook her head at her silliness as she got up and walked over to Saisei.

"I would really like to avoid the Himalaya Mountains, so I was thinking we could just go West instead." Saisei nodded as he continued to listen to her plan, the names really meant nothing to him but he tried to keep up with what she was saying. Kagome explain that they would go through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan before reaching Russia. She went further in saying that they would go through the Thar Desert into Pakistan before traveling through the lower edges of the Sulaiman Mountain range, the mountains were much smaller there than in the Himalaya Mountains and would be easier to go through. When they reached Afghanistan they would travel through the Registan Desert and when they got to Turkmenistan they would have know other choice but to travel through the Karakum Desert until they reached the Caspian Sea. Once they hit Russia, it would pretty much be a straight shot North to get to Moscow.

By the time they were done talking Misuto came back wearing the outfit she confiscated from Kagome and the three sat down to eat their fish before going to bed. They had a long journey ahead of them. The next morning the trio packed up camp and started heading in the Southwest direction. It took about two weeks before they came across a small human village on the edge of the Thar Desert.

* * *

Saisei stood next to his beast, packing all their supplies that they would need in the bags on his saddle. Looking over at Kagome he couldn't help but give out a small chuckle, it was so rare to see her pouting. He know she had quite the stubborn streak but the pouting was too amusing.

"Come on Gome! They don't bite! They are very friendly actually, you don't need to be scared!" Misuto exclaimed, she was already sitting a top her beast hugging and patting the animal with a big smile on her face.

"I'm not scared of the animal Misuto, It's the smell that bothers me. Why can't we just get three horses?" Kagome said with a pout. Standing next to her beast glaring up at it. She had actually thought it would be cool to ride one but they smelled horrible! She did not want to ride this thing through three deserts! Kagome huffed and turned away from the animal with both her arms crossed. She was not getting on that thing, she wanted a horse and that was final! Not paying the slightest bit of attention to the beast, Kagome didn't see his head leaning down. Sniffing her once, the beast opened his mouth and grabbed a small chunk of Kagome's hair to chew on. Kagome gave out a small yelp when she felt her head being tugged back. Quickly turning around, she grabbed her chunk of hair and tried to pull it out of the camel's mouth. Saisei let out a chuckle as he walked over to Kagome to help her. After getting Kagome's hair free, she quickly stepped back and pulled her hood back up and glared at the smelly beast. That was the last straw for Kagome, she has had enough. Turning around, she started to stomp off having every intention of finding a horse but she wasn't quick enough to escape Saisei's grasp. Saisei picked her struggling form up and set her on top of the camel before walking away. He knew once she was up there that she couldn't get herself back down and laughed as he made his way towards his own camel.

"Kagome, camels travel better in the desert than horses do. Plus we already paid for them." Saisei told her as he climbed up on his camel and started moving towards the desert. Kagome sighed and glared at the beast.

"Alright you smelly thing, I guess were stuck with each other." She told it and lightly kicked it's side to get it to start moving but the camel had other plans and did the opposite. Kagome let out a small scream as her body lurched forward before abruptly moving back again as the camel sat down. Her next scream was from pure frustration as she rocked her body back and forth to try to get the animal to stand back up. To make matters even worse she could hear Saisei and Misuto laughing as they rode on ahead of her.

It took several weeks for the trio to cross the Thar dessert and another three weeks to finish crossing Pakistan. Two months to cross Afghanistan before they finally reached Turkmenistan. Over the past four months, time was mostly spent with Saisei and Misuto teaching her how to speak Russian... and trying to play peace maker between the two when they decided to fight, which was all the time. Misuto apparently loves to get on Saisei's last nerve. It wasn't until they began to travel through the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan that Misuto decided to train Kagome on her water abilities. Being in the middle of the desert wasn't exactly the ideal place to start learning since there wasn't any water but she was able to learn two of the four abilities. First one was her Kurenjingu ability. It took her awhile to master it but once she did she discovered she could mix her reiki with the rain. The raining purification would be useful when faced against a lot of enemies. The second ability was the Mizu Kyutai, which was a sphere made of water that was meant to drown the enemy. In order for her to use it though she had to make it rain enough for her to gather the water.

Once they were through the last desert the group came across another small village and sold their camels. Over time Kagome and her smelly friend had made their peace with each other and was reluctant to part with him. This was mostly due to the fact that Kagome refused to get off him once she came across her first camel spider out in the desert. They were the biggest and ugliest things she had ever seen. A shiver went up her spine just thinking about it but her smelly friend had no problem with stomping on them though and for that Kagome was grateful to the beast. Unfortunately she knew the camels couldn't stand the cold weather up North and had to part with them.

When they crossed over into Kazakhstan they followed the Caspian Sea, heading North. It was then that Kagome was able to work more on her water spheres and learn the other two abilities. The next one was called the Mizu Arukimasu, which was by far the hardest one for her to learn. Walking on water wasn't easy but once she got the hang of it, it made the next ability a lot easier for her since she could practice in the middle of the huge lake. The Roguu Ebu ability let her create deadly waves with the water. The highest wave she was able to create was a little over sixty feet high but she was sure she could make bigger ones if she had more water to work with.

* * *

Another three months passed before the group made it into Russia. They were almost to Moscow, Kagome figured they had another couple of weeks before they reached the city. So far everything was going well... well as good as it could be while traveling with two demi gods that did nothing but fight with each other. _'If only I could make them go back into the amulet, maybe then I could get some peace.'_ Kagome sighed and looked over at Saisei. She couldn't help but giggle though as she watched him. Saisei and Misuto had gotten into another fight again and Saisei had deeply upset her with his words. So in retaliation, Misuto summoned a rain cloud that hovered only over him as they walked down the dirt road they were traveling on. Taking pity on him, Kagome summoned a barrier around him to keep the rain away.

"Awwww... Gome! Why did you do that?! Take the barrier down! He needs to be taught a lesson!" Misuto whined from behind Kagome. She had been using Kagome as a shield against Saisei, knowing Kagome wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"I think he has been punished enough Misuto. He has been under that rain cloud for the past hour." Misuto just pouted but made her cloud of fun disappear. Saisei growled deeply and turned to look at the small blue haired girl. Noticing this, Misuto squeaked and clutched at Kagome's arm, getting her attention. Sighing again, Kagome just glared at Saisei... and he glared right back. The two stared each other down for a few minutes before Saisei growled and stomped forward, deciding to walk ahead of the two. He couldn't wait til they got another male in the group. He was sick of being out numbered by girls! Kagome could hear him grumbling but couldn't understand what he was mumbling about, nothing good if she had to take a guess.

Kagome suddenly stopped when she heard a bush rustling to her right. She couldn't feel anything threatening around her but she did notice a small youki aura and it was coming from that bush. Walking a little closer she could see two little brown eyes watching her with caution. Very slowly Kagome walked up to the bush and knelt down to move the small branches out of the way. Inside she saw a very small wolf pup cowering in fear, his whole body shaking like a small leaf. Kagome reached in to pick up the small pup and heard him whine loudly. Quickly she brought the pup to her chest and made soft humming noises to try and calm him. After a few minutes it worked but his body was still tense and shaky. Once she started to pet him though he couldn't help but relax in her hold until her hand brushed up against his leg making him yelp in pain. Looking down she saw a deep gash on his leg and Kagome quickly took action. Bringing up her healing powers she healed the cut within a couple of minutes. Once that was done she covered the pup in her reiki to look for any signs of the curse and when she found it she healed him of that too.

"The curse has reached here as well." Kagome softly said as she looked up at Saisei and he nodded grimly. He wasn't the least bit surprised.

Kagome giggled when she felt the small pup lick the side of her face in gratitude and stroked his fur a couple more times before setting him down on the ground. She couldn't help but smile at him when he started to wag his tail and give out small barks. Kagome put her hands on her hips and leaned forward with a playful smile on her lips.

"Now where is your pack little one?" She asked him in Russian but quickly noticed the fearful look in the pup's eyes as his ears folded back and he started to back away slowly. Kagome watched him in confusion and tensed up when she felt a strong demonic aura heading their way and fast. Quickly she picked up the pup and handed him to Misuto as Saisei and herself went into a battle stance. They didn't wait long before the youkai showed himself and he too took on a battle stance of his own. Looking over the newcomer Kagome saw he had short spiky black hair and brown eyes. If she had to guess he looked to be about six foot tall and he had a very powerful aura, possibly to a level of being a Daiyoukai. The handsome wolf growled threateningly at the trio and tensed up further when he noticed they had the pup. Kagome could hear the pup whine as he tried to get out of Misuto's grasp to go to the demon.

"We mean you no harm, we were only trying to help the pup." Kagome said softly never taking her eyes off the powerful demon standing before her. She didn't want to have to fight him. The demon looked at her coldly before he flexed his claws and growled.

"All your kind does is harm us! Don't try to lie to this Nazar. If you want a battle then you battle this one! Let the pup go! Or are you so despicable that you would hold a pup for ransom?!" He growled out hatefully in a thick Russian accent.

"No! No we would never hurt a pup. We found him hurt and healed him, that's all. Like I said we mean you no harm." Kagome quickly tried to reassure him.

"Misuto, Put the pup down." Saisei softly told her. Slowly Misuto bent down and released the pup. Once free he raced over to the large demon, hiding behind him confused of all the tension he was feeling. The large wolf never took his eyes off the three as he growled and bark at the pup and the group listen nervously as the pup yipped back.

"For healing him I will let you three leave with your life but I never want to see you around my territory again. The next time we cross paths it will be your last. Your kind is not welcome here." He growl out hatefully as he picked the pup up. He never took his eyes off Kagome. Kagome stared at him confused, she had a feeling that it was more of her then the other two that he was talking about. She watched as he slowly started to walk away and knew she had to stop him, his people were still cursed and needed her help.

"Wait! Your pack is plagued with a curse is it not?! I can help. I can cure your people." Kagome said desperately and watched as he stopped and slowly faced her. The sneer across his face left her even more confused though.

"It was your kind that cursed us to begin with priestess. Stay away from us!" Before Kagome could say anything else the wolf took off.

She didn't understand, mikos couldn't curse anyone. Unless it was a dark miko. _'Was it a dark miko that was going around and plaguing the demon race?'_ Kagome's eyes widened at this thought. _'Akuma's Champion!'_ Her heart began to race, she must be near and that meant she was looking for the book as well.

"Do you think he was talking about Akuma's Champion?" Kagome asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know but we need to find out." Saisei said as he kept tabs on the small pup's aura.

"It's possible. I don't remember him doing this before in the previous wars though but he might be trying something different this time around." Misuto said sadly.

"We need more information. We need to follow them." Saisei said as he turned to look at Kagome and she nodded in agreement.

"I can hide my aura but what about you two?" She saw them nod that they could.

"I've tracked their location and they are close enough that we can use the flame portal to get there but we need to be careful." Saisei said and watched as the girls nodded before hiding their aura and doing the same with his own. Once everyone was ready Saisei put a hand on each of their shoulders and summoned his portal, transporting them not far from the village.

The trio could hear the noise from the village and knew that they weren't far. Crouching down, they silently made there way through the forest until they saw the village of demons. Kagome gasped. She had never seen so many demons in one place before. The village was large, possibly around ten thousand youkai lived here and they weren't just wolf youkai either. They ranged from all different types.

"Saisei how are we going to get information? It's not like I can just walk in there and ask you know. I would stick out like a sore thumb." Kagome asked and Saisei gave her an odd look but he understood what she meant.

"You might but I won't. I will just need to stay away from the wolf and with there being so many demons that won't be hard. Misuto and I can split up." He said while trying to feel for the wolf's aura to make sure he was far enough away.

"But I don't want to leave Gome! She will be all lonely by herself!" Misuto whined softly.

"It's ok Misuto, I will be alright. We need you to help collect any information that you can. This is too important." Kagome gave the girl a reassuring smile and she gave a small nod back.

"We will meet back here at nightfall." Saisei said and the girls nodded.

"I'll wait close by."Kagome gave Misuto a small hug and another reassuring smile before the three split up. They had approximately six hours until the sunset so they had no time to waste.

* * *

 **-With Saisei-**

About two hours went by and Saisei still hadn't come across any helpful information. Still wondering through the streets, he looked around with a bored expression on his face. _'This is useless, maybe I should check elsewhere.'_ He was about to turn around and back track but a voice stopped him.

"You don't look like someone from around here. It's been a long time since this old one has seen a phoenix. The last one I saw was about 800 years ago when I crossed the Great Arabian Desert." Saisei looked behind him to see an old rock youkai hammering away on the hot steel of the sword he was working on.

"Hmmm... I'm just passing through. It's hard to find youkai villages these days." Saisei said back, trying to analyze the youkai before him.

"Aye, it is. The priests have been doing a mighty fine job at killing our kind. They have even gone as far as curse us to try and be rid of us." The blacksmith said back and nodded grimly. Saisei gave a puzzled look before thinking. _'He said priests, meaning more than one. It couldn't be Akuma's Champion unless the Champion has gathered more of his kind.'_ He still needed more information so he walked closer and sat down on the ground.

"You look like a warrior, am I correct in my thinking?" The blacksmith asked as he took notice of him sitting down. Saisei nodded as he watched him walk over to the fire to heat up the sword again.

"Yes, I'm currently on an important journey with some comrades." He said as he continued to watch him move about.

"Perhaps your presence here is a blessing then. You see, we are getting ready to go to war with those that are harming us and put an ending to this curse that plagues our people. Would a warrior and your comrades be interested in helping? We could use strong men like you." The blacksmith looked over at Saisei and he could see the hope in the old man's eyes as he waited for his answer. Saisei watched him for a minute, the man seemed certain that these priest were the ones causing the curse and if the Champion was here then they needed to stay but what this village really needed was Kagome. They had no chance without her... But would they opened themselves up enough to let her in was the true question. Their leader already gave his opinion on the matter. Saisei decided to take a chance.

"What if I told you that I already have a way of curing the curse?" The Blacksmith quickly turned to look at Saisei and Saisei took notice of his widened eyes before giving the Blacksmith a nod.

* * *

 **-With Kagome-**

Three hours had passed for Kagome and she was going crazy sitting here by herself. She was never one that could sit still for a long period of time. Letting out a sigh, Kagome got up and stretched her muscles until she heard a light popping sound and relaxed. Getting bored with just sitting there she decided she was going to take a look around the area. Crouching down, she quietly walked around the edge of the forest. About 15 minutes went by before Kagome knelt down and observed the youkai moving about the village. Then suddenly she tensed as she heard a twig snap to her right and crouched further to the ground. Taking a deep breathe Kagome peaked over the bush she was hiding behind and a puzzled look crossed her face. There was a man dressed in a white monk robe standing next to a tree about ten yards from her location. She silently watched him observing the youkai village. From where she was she could tell the young man was human and wondered why he was here. It wasn't long before she watched him slowly back away and headed in the opposite direction of the village. Glancing around quickly Kagome decided to follow him. She had another three hours to kill and nothing to do anyway so what the hell right?!

She followed the man for about 20 minutes before watching him enter into a campsite of humans. Staying crouched Kagome tried to get as close as possible without being seen. There was about 18 men in the camp, they were all dressed in white monk robes. It was then that Kagome could feel their holy powers. _'Their priests! Were these the men that the wolf was talking about?'_ They didn't feel all that powerful though. There was no way that any of them could be the Champion, they were too weak. Scooting a little closer, Kagome could hear two of them talking to each other.

"We will leave tonight! We will attack as soon as it gets dark and erase the filth of that village. They will plague us no more." The older of the two men said.

"But sir, what if that winged beast attacks our village again? We won't be there to protect our people." The young one asked back fearfully.

"Worry not, god is on our side. Those demons won't live to see the next sunrise." Was the last thing Kagome was able to hear before the two men walked away from her location. Deciding she heard enough for now. She needed to warn Saisei. But before she left she saw all the men walk up to a single beautiful woman and bowed to her. Kagome could feel the woman's powerful aura but what confused her the most was that it wasn't holy... it was demonic.

* * *

 **-With Misuto-**

Five hours into her search Misuto still hadn't found any useful information yet, of course she hadn't been looking very hard either, she kept getting distracted by everything around her but now she was starting to get bored. Humming happily she continued to skip down the street looking for anything interesting. She didn't pay any mind to everyone around her giving her strange looks and whispering to each other. She had completely forgot that she was suppose to remain in the shadows and not draw attention to herself. It wasn't long before she found a group of children and squealed happily. Misuto raced off to go join the fun and the children happily accepted her. To distracted by the children, Misuto failed to notice the glaring eyes that watched her from the crowd. The wolf stomped up to Misuto and grabbed her by the arm, jerking her to face him. Misuto was about to yell at the one mishandling her but quickly closed her mouth when she saw the wolf glaring down at her.

"I had warned you to stay away! Where are your friends!?" Misuto gulped before shaking her head no. Growling savagely, the wolf yanked her forward and started to drag her to his hut. He was going to get answers one way or another.

* * *

 **-With Saisei-**

It was getting close to dark by the time Saisei was done talking to the blacksmith. The blacksmith was a little nervous but Saisei knew after he met with Kagome he would calm, she had a way of doing that to all those around her. It took him a little over two hours to explain to the blacksmith about the curse and how his comrades were traveling from village to village to cure everyone effected by it. He was extremely nervous though when he told him it was a priestess that was healing everyone. But the blacksmith did admit that they heard of a similar rumor before of a great priestess in the East that had a kind heart and helped all those that needed her so he tried to keep a opened mind and because of this he agreed to help them. Now he was on his way to collect Kagome and Misuto to take them to the blacksmith.

Saisei looked around to make sure no one was watching before stepping into the forest and heading to their meeting spot. He still had about 20 minutes left of daylight so he was in no rush. He just hoped that Misuto didn't get distracted and forget to meet them back here on time. He wasn't a fool, he knew that she wouldn't have found any useful information she gets to distracted for that. He just hoped that she stayed out of trouble this time... Maybe letting her go off on her own wasn't a good idea.

Finally reaching his location Saisei looked around for Kagome but didn't see any sign of her any where. Taking a small sniff he noticed that her scent was a couple hours old but it was hard to be sure. Birds weren't known for there smelling abilities, they were better with their eye sight. Letting a small frown cross his lips Saisei sat down and waited. He hoped everything was alright. She was suppose to stay here but he knew she couldn't sit still for very long. Letting out a sigh, Saisei really really hoped the next guardian was a male. He was getting weary with being around troublesome females all the time. It wasn't long before Saisei heard rustling to his left and when he turned he saw Kagome appear right next to him. Letting out a sigh of relief he was about to scold her but stopped when he noticed she was out of breath. Kagome quickly sat down next to him.

"Where's Misuto?" She asked as she tried to catch her breath and saw him shrug.

"I don't know. Where have you been? You were suppose to wait here." He said as he gave her a small glare.

"I had found a young priest hanging around the edge of the forest and decided to follow him. Saisei they plan on attacking them tonight. There are about 18 priests and while their not very strong in holy power their numbers can still do some damage to this village. We have to stop them." Saisei's was silent for a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Was Akuma's Champion with them?" Kagome 'hmmmed' before trying to explain what she felt.

"I don't think so... I don't know, it was weird. They are being lead by a woman but she isn't of holy nature. What I felt from her was demonic no doubt, but it was something more. Like she is touched by something powerful... A power not exactly her own but maybe borrowed perhaps. It's hard to explain but I don't think this is the work of Akuma's Champion." Saisei nodded knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"He has taken Generals. She was touched by the dark god and he lent her some of his powers. You feel the same way. What you are feeling is the effect of being touched by a god. Always remember that feeling, the champion will feel the same but more powerful." Kagome's eyes widened but she nodded her understanding.

"I have found a place for us to stay. He is weary of you but he is willing to take a chance if you can help, which we know you can but he needs to be reassured. As soon as Misuto gets here we will go to him." Kagome shook her head no.

"The priests plan to attack at sunset, we have no time..." Kagome wasn't able to finish her sentence before she felt a massive wave of holy power wash over her and the both tensed before quickly getting up.

* * *

 **-With Misuto-**

Misuto watched as the wolf paced back and forth, every time he turned he would glare at her. She had been here for about 30 minutes now and she could tell he was getting frustrated with her silence. Honestly, being this quite was driving her crazy. She was a very talkative person after all.

Nazar was furious! He had told them to stay away. He wanted that priestess as far away from his village as possible! He felt her aura and it made him nervous, she was an extremely powerful priestess. The most powerful one he has ever met, even her two companions were powerful in their own right and he wasn't confident that he could take all three of them out. He was truly frightened when he found his nephew with the three but he was also puzzled when he found out that the priestess had healed him. Why?! It was his biggest question. Why would she heal her enemy? What did she want in return? What was her motive? He couldn't answer any of these questions and it made him extremely nervous. He couldn't handle all the pressure he was under at the moment and it made him even more agitated. First the war they were about to fight in and now this unknown priestess arrival. Was she with the enemy? Was she their leader? To make matters even worse he couldn't get this girl to answer any of these questions either. She refused to say a word.

Nazar suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as a cold wave of holy energy washed over him. They were close... too close, and they weren't ready! One of the village guards sounded the horn notifying everyone that they were under an attack and chaos broke loose in the village. Not even bothering with his captive anymore, Nazar raced out of his hut. He paid no mind that the girl followed closely behind him as the two raced towards the holy energy.

Nazar was almost to the village entrance when he felt an enormous wave of holy powers surround them but what confused him was that it wasn't harmful. Looking up, he watched with widened eyes as a powerful barrier was starting to form around his village, locking everyone in. He quickened his pace and shoved through anyone that got in his way and finally broke through the crowd at the entrance, Misuto right behind him.

Walking up to the barrier he counted 18 priests standing on the other side of it. The look on their face gave away their confusion, all but one. A single woman stood before them, leading the priests and she looked pissed. Almost like this wasn't apart of their plan. Then it clicked, they weren't the ones that placed the barrier. Nazar quickly looked around trying to find the strange priestess he had met earlier. He found her and her other companion standing behind the group of enemies with a look of determination on her face.

* * *

 **-With Kagome & Saisei-**

It only took Kagome a moment to react to the wave of holy energy coming their way. She had to do something. She knew the village wasn't prepared yet and she refused to sit back and do nothing. With that thought in mind Kagome raced off to confront the enemy but it was within the next moment that she realize they were already upon the village gate and she wouldn't make it in time. Without giving it much more thought Kagome stopped cold and folded her hands together, closing her eyes, and started to whisper a chant. Saisei stopped, wondering what the hell she was doing and was about to yell at her but then he felt it. A powerful barrier started to form and he watched as it started to slowly form around the village. After a couple minutes Kagome opened her eyes and started to move forward again but this time in a slower pace. She was confident that they wouldn't be able to take down her barrier, she put a lot of power in it. The two slowly walked towards the group of enemies and watched as they looked around in confusion. The priests weren't prepared to take on a fellow holy member and didn't know what to do, it wasn't how this battle was suppose to go.

Kagome watched as the woman dressed in a long black dress walked up to the barrier and slammed her fists down on it. The barrier wavered slightly but still stood strong. She heard the woman's hiss of pain and as she turn she could see her hands were burnt. The priests looked at the woman in confusion, they were under the impression that the woman was of holy nature but if that was true then the barrier shouldn't have harmed her. Kagome could hear the whispers of doubt from the priests as they slowly started to back away from her. It wasn't until they turned around that they finally took notice of Kagome and Saisei. The woman paid no mind to the men as she shoved them out of her way and walked towards Kagome before stopping about 12 feet from her.

"Hmmm... I under estimated your powers Miko. Perhaps you are a little stronger than I gave you credit for." The woman said in thick Japanese accent and let out a shrill laugh. "But we both know you can't beat me." She continued on mockingly.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that General. You aren't Akuma's Champion so the question is how do you expect to beat me?" Kagome said back with more confidence than she felt at the moment. She knew that she couldn't let this woman find any weakness though. The priests looked between the two in confusion, none of them understanding anything that was being said.

"Hmmm... Such confidence you hold. I will enjoy this battle and when I win these demons you protect will be next!" The cruel smile that crossed her ruby lips sent a chill down Kagome's spine but she refused to let this demoness get to her.

"You have forgotten one very important detail demoness..." The woman raised a single eyebrow in question mockingly. "I have been fully blessed by my god. Can you say the same?." Kagome finished with a smirk and the woman scowled back. Apparently that had hit a nerve. Kagome could tell she was power hungry.

She watched as the demoness turned to the priests and heard her give them an order to take out Saisei before turning her attention back to Kagome. The men slowly moved towards Saisei out of fear for the woman before them. Kagome glanced at Saisei and saw him smirk before slowly advanced towards them, taking out his double swords. Then as if there was a silent que, the battle started.

The demoness raced towards Kagome at an alarming speed and she barely had time to bring up a barrier to deflect her claws. Quickly Kagome summoned her Jigoku No Hi ability and watched as the ground around her turned hot and went up in pink flames of purification, burning the demoness and forcing her to back away. She hissed in pain as she circled Kagome looking for an opening. Kagome slowly turned with her as she circled around.

"So Miko, I see you like playing with fire. Well two can play that game." The demoness smirk as she lifted her right hand up, palm facing Kagome and Kagome's eyes widened as she watched a ball of flames build in power before the demoness released it, throwing it her way. Right before the ball of fire was going to hit, Kagome used her flame portal to disappear before reappearing behind the demoness. Quickly Kagome charged her hands with her reiki and as the demoness turned to face her Kagome slammed both her palms into the demoness's chest, sending her flying back about 20 feet.

Picking herself back up, the demoness hissed in outrage! She didn't think the Miko bitch would be this strong already. She knew she had only got two books so far so why was she so powerful?! Looking down at her chest she saw it covered in burn blisters from the last attack and she glared over at the miko, she could feel herself starting to lose control.

Kagome silently watched the demoness as she tried to collect herself. She could feel her demonic aura building and new she was close to losing control. Not knowing what to expect, Kagome took the this time to start building up her next attack and waited. The sleeves of Kagome's cloak hid her hands from the demoness so Kagome knew she wouldn't give her next attack away. The only thing that would give it away was the slight puffs of cold misty air that she breathe out every time she took a breath. The magic diagrams tattooed on her hands started to glow a bright white and as soon as the demoness made her next attack Kagome unleashed hers.

Saisei wasn't going to lie, he was defiantly enjoying himself, he missed being in battle. Unfortunately though, the priests weren't much of a challenge. There was ten of them left and with a quick snap of his fingers the rest went up in flames. He was slightly disappointed that it ended so quickly. The sheering noise he heard behind him caught his attention and he quickly turned around to check on Kagome. He watched as the demoness raced towards Kagome and as she did Kagome's body flashed a bright white light as she unleashed her next attack. As she leaned forward, she stomped her right leg down on the ground sending a quick sheet of cold ice towards the demoness, stopping her in her tracks. Once the ice reached the demoness it started to freeze the her from her feet and slowly working its way up her body. The demoness started to panic not knowing how to stop it.

That panic is what destroyed the last thread of her control. Everyone watched in horror as the demoness hunched over and screamed. Her body growing in size, her dress ripping to shreds until she wore nothing. Her long beautiful brown hair fell from her head leaving her bald and finally bat like wings ripped out of her back. Once done with her transformation she bent her head back and gave a blood curdling scream. Kagome gasped in horror at the monster before her. Her once beautiful face now look like something out of a horror film. Her eyes had turned a blood red and her mouth now was too big for her face, all her razor sharp fangs jutted out since the were too long to fit inside anymore. Everyone watched as she lifted up her powerful legs one by one and broke free of the ice before taking off to the sky with a powerful beat of her bat like wings. For a moment Kagome thought she was retreating but had guessed wrong when the creature turned around and headed back towards Kagome. Kagome could tell by the look in her ruby eyes that she had lost all control and was nothing but a mindless beast now and braced herself.

Kagome quickly formed her powers into a bow and watched the creature as she circled her. She tried to look for any kind of pattern in her flight but it was all sporadic and it made it hard to predict her next move. Suddenly the creature swooped down and opened her mouth before belting out hot flames towards Kagome. Kagome only had a quick moment to dodge out of the way before it took back to the skies again. Kagome knew she had to trap the beast or else she wouldn't be able to take it down but the question was how? She started to panic and quickly looked around to find Saisei. She saw him standing close to the barrier and went to slowly back up towards him while trying to keep an eye on the creature circling her.

"I can't help you Kagome." She stopped stunned for a moment and quickly turned to face him. Saisei bent his head down knowing this was going to upset her but he knew this was for her own good, there might be a time when no of them could reach her. She needed to do this on her own. She needed to be prepared for what is to come. Of course he wouldn't let her die but he would only step in if absolutely needed. Looking back up, he looked into her eyes. He expected the stunned look but what he didn't expect was the total look of abandonment and for the first time ever Saisei wanted nothing more then to take that look away. He had never really had someone that he wanted to protect before, it had always been that he was forced to protect but at that moment he wanted to do just that. He wanted to protect her from everything. What he saw in her eyes next made him regret his decision even more, her eyes grew cold... an raging cold and it actually made him flinch.

Kagome emotions were raging inside, she was pissed! ...And hurt, very much hurt. He was suppose to be there when she needed him but now he was refusing to help her when she needed him most. So consumed in her emotions Kagome failed to see the creature take advantage of her distraction and swooped down with claws extended. The next thing Kagome felt was a searing pain across her back as the creature swiped at her, sending her flying to the left. The wind was knocked out of her when she landed on her back, making her new wounds burn even more and she could hardly breathe. Kagome could feel the tears run down her face as she looked up to the sky. She could see the creature still circling up ahead and knew if she was going to live she would have to take the beast down quickly. She now knew she couldn't depend on Saisei anymore and Misuto was stuck in the barrier so that left just her. There she was again truly alone. That thought made rage burn hot inside her. _'FUCK SAISEI! I CAN DO THIS WITHOUT HIM!'_ And with that thought Kagome started to chant making her diagrams glow a bright green and waited. She laid there very still as she watched the creature turn and once she was in the spot Kagome needed her to be she grabbed the root of the tree she was laying next to and unleashed her powers into it. In a blink of an eye a root shot up from the ground and wrapped itself around the creatures foot, holding the beast in one spot. The creature screamed in fury and tried to beat it's wings harder but it never worked. Slowly Kagome got up and formed her powers into a bow again and without hesitation she pulled the string back. Pouring more power into it an arrow formed and without another thought she released it, hitting her mark. Everyone watched and cheered as the creature turned to ashes flying away with the wind.

Turning around Kagome refused to look at Saisei as she walked towards the barrier. Saisei knew he fucked up but he did want he thought was right... maybe he should have didn't it differently though. Kagome waited as the wolf leader approached the barrier in front of her. He didn't know what to say, she had saved them and now they were all in her debt. Kagome looked at the wolf with a blank stare. She was tired but she knew before she could rest she had one last thing to do.

"All I ever wanted to do was help. That is what drives me to go on in my journey. _It's is to help those that need it_!" She started with an edge to her voice and Saisei flinched knowing that was also directed at him. "It doesn't matter to me wither they are human, demon, or hanyou. I offered you that help and you refused me. So now I'm not giving you that choice." She finished with a tired voice and everyone around her started to get nervous by what she meant. With that said Kagome placed both of her hands on the barrier and started to push her powers into it. She had never tried this before but she hoped it work. Slowly her reiki filled the inside of the barrier as she pushed her healing powers into every being inside and one by one she cured them. It took her the better part of three hours to finish and once she did she collapsed from exhaustion and her barrier collapsed with her but before she could hit the ground Saisei caught her in his arms.

Three days had passed before Kagome finally woke up. Saisei had talked to Nazar and he had welcomed the group in the village. When he finally got to speak to Kagome he apologized for his rude behavior and told her they were in her debt but she told him she wanted nothing in return. She still refused to speak a word to Saisei and ignored him every time he tried to talk to her, even Misuto refused to say anything to him. It was about a week before the trio left the village to continue on their journey to Moscow and once they left Saisei thought it would be best if he went back into the amulet until Kagome forgave him, so without another word his soul went back into his crystal.

It took the girls about two weeks to reach Moscow and during those two weeks Kagome barely spoke. Misuto try as she might but couldn't seem to cheer Kagome up. But she still tried to at least make her smile once a day. That was her self given mission. It wasn't until Kagome found the next book in the library of the Saint Basil's Cathedral that Saisei came back out of his gem. He could tell Kagome was still upset with him so he stood back and watched her summon the portal. Misuto elbowed him and they glared at each other but he still refused to say anything so Misuto decided to instead.

"Good luck Gome!" Kagome turned to look at them before giving a tight smile and walked through the portal.

* * *

When Kagome came out from the other side of the portal she was surrounded by a snow covered forest. Looking up she silently watched as the snowflakes fell softly to the ground. It was dark out, the only light she had was coming from the full moon but it was enough to let her see her surroundings. Taking a couple steps forward she noticed that she felt a little different, looking down at the ground she yelped in surprise. She saw paws... her paws. Completely confused Kagome leaped forward toward the frozen river a head of her and looked down at her reflection. She was surprised at what was staring back at her, a black wolf with blue eyes. She actually shouldn't be though, she should have learned by now that anything can happen through the portals.

Looking back up movement caught Kagome's attention and she tensed. Waiting nervously, Kagome prepared herself mentally for whatever it was and was a liitle taken back when she saw another female wolf. She was beautiful in pure white fur. She watched as the wolf approached her and tensed a little when she rubbed up against Kagome's side in greeting but soon relaxed when she realized she meant Kagome no harm. Then the wolf gave Kagome a slight nudge and trotted a head of her before looking back at her in question. Kagome took this as a sign that the female wanted her to follow so she raced after her. The pair raced each other for about 20 minutes and for the first time in two weeks Kagome was enjoying herself again. Soon more wolves had joined in as they raced off to an unknown location. Kagome continued to follow the pack and soon they started to slow down and that was when Kagome heard the sound of a battle. The pack had completely stopped and started to growl out threateningly before they took off at top speed towards the sound and Kagome quickly followed wondering what was going on.

As soon as Kagome entered the snow covered clearing her eyes widened. There was about 40 wolves gathered around a enemy fighting to protect each other but that wasn't what shocked her, what shocked her was the enemy they surrounded was Saisei. She watched as he took down one wolf after another but more kept coming, taking turns in attacking him from different angles. She whined softly as she saw a wolf grab at his leg bring him down to one knee and that was when it dawned on Kagome that he was actually losing the fight. He looked exhausted and about ready to collapse. Kagome had never seen him look so defeated before and it made her heart hurt. It was when she heard him howl in pain as another wolf grabbed his left arm that spurred her into action. With her heart beating wildly, Kagome launched herself into battle to try and save him. She could never leave him so helpless. He looked up at Kagome with tired eyes.

"Kagome... I'm sorry." He whispered before falling face first into the snow covered ground and Kagome started to panic. She quickly tired to nudge him awake but nothing worked so she whined. Hearing all the growls around her she quickly looked back up and growled back. She wouldn't give up, She would protect him for as long as she could and with that thought she pounced. She ripped and tore at any wolf that got close to her. Even when she started to tire she still fought on. After about another 20 minutes of battle Kagome was barely standing but she still refused to collapse. When she looked back up to see which one would attack her next she noticed all the wolves backing away and making room for another wolf. This one was so much larger than the others. His height was about as tall as the trees but still Kagome refused to back down. She could tell he was the leader of the pack but she didn't care. Her only thoughts were on protecting Saisei. All of a sudden the wolf glowed a dark purple and his form turned into human and Kagome changed back with him. Kagome gasped as she looked at the beautiful male before her. He looked to be around 21 and his height was close to seven foot tall. He had long black hair that was put in a high ponytail with light purple eyes. He wore a simple black monk robe and in his right hand he held a scythe.

"Tell me little one, why do you protect someone that has abandoned you?" Kagome glared at him.

"Because I would never abandon him. I don't abandon my friends." She watched as he raise an eyebrow at her and chuckled.

"So I see, but tell me... Why do you think he refused to help you?" He could tell that she was still hurt over his refusal. Kagome looked down sadly as she thought about his question.

"Because he ... He was trying to teach me something." She said it more as question then an answer. She knew he was always teaching her something and that was the only reason she could think of as to why he did what he did.

"And did you learn what he wanted you too?" Again Kagome wasn't for sure. She took down the creature by herself. She was scared but she had managed to do it.

"I... I think so. " She watched as he nodded before he looked at her thoughtfully. Then he walked up to Kagome and knelt down beside her.

"You knew what he was doing deep down inside you so tell me... Why are you still upset? You never know when you will lose the ones close to you but I think you already know that. " Kagome sniffed as she nodded. She could feel her tears running down her face but didn't bother to wipe them away as she looked down at Saisei's unmoving body. Kagome didn't look back at him again until she heard him speak.

"You show a great amount of loyalty little one and because of that this Nisshoku shall join you on your journey." With that said Kagome watched as glowed a bright purple and when the light died a purple Amethyst was left in his place. Kagome sniffled as she picked up the gem and placed it in her amulet. After she felt him place his mark on her she looked one last time at Saisei's body before running to the portal as fast as she could.

Both Saisei and Misuto jumped with a started as Kagome came running through the portal. Saisei was the first to noticed the tear tracks on her cheeks but didn't have time to stop and question her as she came barreling into him at full speed, almost knocking him over in the process. Completely confused he just stared down at Kagome as she buried her face into his stomach but slowly he wrapped his arms around her awkwardly. The amulet suddenly glowed a bright purple and both Saisei and Misuto watched as Nisshoku appeared before them with a smirk on his face.

"So tell me... What kind of plan has my father cooked up this time?" Kagome quickly snapped her head to look at Nisshoku. _'His father?!'_

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 6**

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D

-PEACH


	7. A Cold Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. Ok so a quick note for you guys. I want all of you guys to understand something about tarot cards. I will be using some cards outside of their original meaning, like in this chapter I will be using the Devil card to represent Akuma. I want you all to understand though that the Devil card doesn't actually mean the 'Devil' in any sense. There is a lot of misunderstanding that people have when it comes to tarot cards, the most being the Devil card and the Death card. The devil card usually is taken as a warning to you. When right side up it means you are indulging too much in something unhealthy. Could be an addiction, sexuality, or you are being too materialistic. When reversed it is actually a positive card, meaning that you have broken free of an addiction or you have gained power over an unhealthy habit. I just didn't want any of you to get the wrong impression on some of the cards I will be using like this. I'll explain the cards I use when I use them to represent someone. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. :D

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

* * *

 **Chapter 7: A Cold Soul**

* * *

"So tell me... What kind of plan has my father cooked up this time?" Kagome quickly snapped her head to look at Nisshoku. _'His father?!'_

"So you found the Book of Shadows." Saisei said to Kagome with a scowl as he looked at Nisshoku. He was hoping Nisshoku would have been one of the last ones to join the group. He would have preferred Sasayaki or Inari's company instead. He wasn't a big fan of the dark one, he was the only one that could hold his own in a match against him. 'At least we are on the same side this time.'

Nisshoku was a tricky one to fight against, his abilities were extremely powerful. He always liked going against his father though, which pissed the god off to no end. Akuma had great hopes that his only child would help him win and stand by his side as one's child should but Nisshoku would never forgive his father for killing his mother.

"Nisshoku!" Misuto squealed as she hopped up and down before latching herself around his waist in a hug. "Did you miss this Misuto?!" Nisshoku gave a small smile as he patted Misuto on the head.

"Of course I did little one. Have you been getting on the firebird's last nerve like we talked about before?" Nisshoku asked and looked back over at Saisei, which made him growl and a smirk crossed his lips in return.

"Wait, who is his father?" Kagome asked as she looked up at Saisei. Saisei looked back down at Kagome and wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks before answering her question.

"Akuma... most know him as Enma, the dark god that decides wither you go to heaven or hell. He has become power hungry though and has been trying to take over Earth ever since the beginning of time. Every time he wins the Kami's would destroy everything and start over again." Saisei said with a sigh and Kagome nodded.

"Have you forgiven me?" Saisei whispered just loud enough for Kagome to hear. Kagome nodded and Saisei sighed again but this time with relief.

"Nisshoku helped me realize that you did it to teach me something." Kagome whispered back and it was Saisei turn to nod.

"We may not always be there to protect you, I just wanted you to learn that you have all the strength you need inside you. You can do this Kagome, you already have passed three trials which is more then any other before you has been able to do. I would have stepped in if your life was truely in danger, I won't let you die Kagome." Kagome nodded and hugged him once more before releasing him and stepped back.

"Wait, so the last miko only had two guardians?" She asked and gave him a confused look.

"Monk... The Kami's had chosen a monk to fight for them in the last war. Akuma had chosen a dark miko to represent him and yes, they both only had two guardians. Nisshoku and Misuto were on the monk's side. Hikari and myself were on the miko's side." Saisei answered with a nod. "But what about the others?" Kagome continued.

"They never found their books." Nisshoku was the one to answer her this time and Kagome looked over at him.

"It was sad actually, they were once lovers but something tore them apart. It ate at Akio, to have to fight his lover to the death. He said that the darkness in her was too strong for her to over come and Akuma took advantage of Hanako's darkness." Misuto said sadly.

"Who won?" Kagome was curious as she looked around at the three.

"We did." Nisshoku said with a smirk and laughed when Saisei growled at him. "The bird wasn't strong enough." Kagome quickly stepped in front of Saisei to keep him from lunging at Nisshoku. "Careful wolf!" Saisei seethed out. Giving out a sigh, Kagome had a bad feeling that she was going to have to keep these two apart as well.

* * *

Once camp was set up they all sat down and waited for their food to finish cooking. Kagome decided to break the silence and ask a question that has been on her mind since they left Moscow.

"So Nisshoku's father is Enma but what about you two. I remember you said that you are half god, so which god are your parents?" She asked to Saisei and Misuto.

"My father is Suijin, the god of water. That is Onee-chan's father too!" Misuto was the first one to answers. Kagome smiled at the girl and nodded. She kinda of figured that one out but she was curious as to Saisei's. Her first guess would have been Kagutsuchi since he is the god of fire but then she remembered that his father Izanagi killed him after his wife Izanami died when she gave birth to him, so now she wasn't sure.

"My father is Hachiman, the god of war. My mother was a Phoenix which is where I got my fire from." Saisei watched as Kagome gave a nod in understanding.

"Soooo... What about the others? Are you aloud to tell me about them?" Kagome was extremely curious but she wasn't for sure if they could or not. They never really talked about the other guardians before.

"I don't see why not." Saisei said with a shrug. There wasn't any kind of rule saying they couldn't. The only one is that they are not suppose to help her with the trials.

"Yuki is my older sister! She's the best!" Misuto exclaimed in excitement. Kagome laughed, she could tell Misuto loved her older sister very much.

"Hikari's father is Raijin, the god of thunder and lightning. Kazenosasayaki's father is Fujin, the god of wind. Inari's father is Okuninushi, the god of farming, business, and medicine." Nisshoku said to fill Kagome in on the others like she wanted.

"So the guardians are Saisei, Misuto, Nisshoku, Yuki, Hikari, Kazenosasayaki, and Inari...but that's only seven. I thought there was eight guardians?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"There is but we don't know anything on the eighth guardian. The guardian has never been summoned before." Saisei answered and Kagome nodded. "Has anyone ever found the book?"

"Three have and they never made it back out alive." Nisshoku said with a frown. They were all curious about the final guardian. Some believe that the guardian was the strongest of them and that would mean the he was the second strongest, which he didn't like at all. The group fell silent as they were all lost in their thoughts before Misuto broke it with her next question.

"Are you going to see where our next location is Gome?" Kagome looked over at Misuto before nodding.

Picking up the amulet, Kagome poured her reiki into it and waited for the images to appear. The first image was of a snow covered mountain standing tall among the other mountains around it. She watched as a small group of dragons fly around the huge mountain. The next one was of a young demoness looking down at pool of bubbling lava before she turned her head and looked behind her giving Kagome a clear view of her beautiful face. The demons around her were fleeing and they headed toward a small fleet of ships. The ships Kagome recognized but it still didn't give her an exact location. The final image was of a beautiful scenery of green, blue and purple wisps dancing in the sky. Kagome recognized this too but still told her nothing important. The Northern Lights could happen anywhere in the Arctic Circle. She waited a couple more minutes to see if anymore images would appear but nothing happened.

Kagome sighed as she opened her eyes. The images didn't really show her a whole lot. So Kagome grabbed her bag and pulled out her map, a scroll, and her last pencil. She tried not to use it often but she needed to make sure she remembered the mountain she saw. She had a strong pull to that particular image so she knew it was important and wanted to draw a small picture of the woman she saw. Unrolling the scroll, Kagome began her sketches. She knew the others were watching her but she paid no mind to them at the moment, she didn't want to forget any important details. Once she was done she rolled up the scroll and put it back in her bag.

"It's hard to say where to go next. There was only one clue that gave me any idea to what direction we need to take. I saw a group of youkai packing their things and getting on their ships to leave. The style of ships they were on is what I recognized, they were Vikings. The problem with this is that there are several countries that are home to the Vikings and Scandinavia is a large place to search. There is one country we can rule out for sure though and that's Denmark. It's too far South to have the Northern Lights, so now that leaves Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland." Kagome said before picking up her map and looking at the four countries, she was looking for the mountain ranges. There was only one main mountain range in Scandinavia and that was the Scandinavian Mountains. Iceland on the other hand had a couple really small clusters of mountains and volcanoes but their main one was actually the longest mountain range in the world, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Almost all of it was under water though. Finland could be ruled out as well sense most of the country was made up of Lakelands and what they called the Lapplands. So that left Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Kagome gave out a big sigh, the Scandinavian Mountains is a very long range. Almost all of Norway are nothing but mountains.

"Ok so are best route is to go through Finland then follow the mountain range through Sweden into Norway. If we don't find this mountain then we are going to have to go to Iceland." Kagome told them as she rolled up her map and put it away.

"Well it sounds like we have a long journey ahead of us. We should rest and head out first thing in the morning." Nisshoku said as he leaned back against a tree trunk and closed his eyes. The rest nodded in agreement before laying down as well.

* * *

The group spent the next eight months traveling North through Russia, then enter into Finland. As they traveled into the Finland's Lapplands, Nisshoku started to teach Kagome his abilities. He only had two of them but both were very powerful. He started with his first ability, the Kage No Hitotsuno. For her to become one with the shadows was difficult and it took her the better part of six months to finally master it. Blending in with the shadows was the easiest part but moving through them is what made it hard. When they finally traveled over the border entering into Sweden he started to teach her his second ability, the Hifu No Henka. This ability allowed her to shape shift. He taught her to use her reiki to examine the creature she wanted to become before using them to shift and mold her own structure to become that animal. The wolf was the first thing she learned to change into since that was his true form, but Saisei and Mitsuto would change into theirs as well so she could practice changing into something different.

Now the group sat around the campfire eating the cooked birds that they had caught. They had been traveling through the Scandinavian Mountains for about two months and still have not found the mountain they were looking for. Off to the right side of the fire sat Kagome and Nisshoku.

"This is so frustrating! There are too many mountains, for all we know we could have passed this mountain already." Kagome grouched and Nisshoku couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Then use your sight." He answered back like it was so simple and took another bite out of his bird.

"How?! The only time I see things is through the amulet, which won't show me anymore then what I have already seen and sometimes I see things in my dreams but I can't control that." Kagome huffed, the first three guardians had been easy for her to find because of the famous structures their books were located at but now she had to find a single mountain. If it wasn't for the viking ship she wouldn't have even known what direction to take.

"You have your cards don't you?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow at her. Kagome gave him a puzzled look.

"Yes, but how would that help me? They give me a little bit of insight to the future but I don't have a tarot card in the deck that says 'Hey go North for another five miles and then take a left!' Though I wish I did." Kagome grumped and sent Nisshoku a glare when he laughed at her.

"Yes if only it were that simple." He chuckled. "Take out your deck Kagome." Kagome was a little confused but did as he asked. Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out the small box that held her tarot cards and took the deck out.

"Shuffle your cards but as you do focus on what you are seeking." He said as he watched her start to shuffle her deck. "Take your time." Kagome cleared her her mind and began to focus. Closing her eyes she thought about the books, the mountain she was looking for, the youkai villages, and Akuma's champion. Once she was done she sat the deck down in front of her.

"Now draw your cards." And slowly she began too. "How many?" She normally would only draw three. "I'll guide you and tell you when to stop." Kagome nodded and drew her first card, setting it down in front of her. The card had a beautiful woman sitting on her throne holding a chalice in her hand, the Queen of Cups.

"It suites you, I'm not surprised that you drew that card." Kagome waited for him to explain further. "The first card represents you and it describes you very well." Kagome nodded as she listened to him. The Queen of Cups meant emotional security, calming, intuitive, and compassion. She knew she was a very compassionate person and she supposed that she could have the other traits too... Well sometimes.

"Draw your next card and place it sideways over your first card." Kagome did as she was told but quickly got nervous when she saw the card, the Devil. She looked up at Nisshoku when she heard him let out a small chuckle. "What?! What does this card mean?" She asked in slight panic. She knew what the card meant but she wasn't sure what the second card was suppose to represent.

"The second card is your challenge, or the forces that are against you. It's no surprise that you drew that card considering that it is the devil himself that is after you." Kagome glared at him but calmed down. "Now what I want you to do is hold your hand over the card and focus your powers into it. Tell me what you see." Taking a calming breath, Kagome did as he asked. It took a couple of minutes before the images started to appear.

 _Everything was dark, the only light source was coming from the moon as it lite up the forest. Off in the distance she could see a small orange light and focused harder on it. As the image became more clear she noticed it was a campfire, and there were three figures around it. The first figure that stood out to her was of a man that looked like a wolf. His body had a human form but was covered in grey fur and his head was a wolf. The only thing the beast wore was brown pants that were ripped, cutting the leggings off at the knee. As he sat with his legs and arms crossed, his tail caught her eye as it flicked in irritation. 'A werewolf.'_

 _The next figure sat on the other side of the fire, across from the wolf. This figure didn't have any features at all. His form completely black, the light of the fire was the only things that outlined his seemingly humanoid figure. The only thing that stood out about him was his inhumanly long fingers that looked like claws. He was the first one to speak._

 _"The fury has failed." His voice was devoid of any emotion and it sent a chill up Kagome's spine. The wolf gave out a grunt and closed his eyes._

 _"Of course she did, she was weak. I knew she wouldn't be a match against the miko." The wolf said before opening his eyes and looked over at the third figure as she took her turn in speaking._

 _"Eva's only purpose was to test the miko. She is stronger than we had originally thought. We will have to be careful in the future when dealing with her. How many guardians has she found?" The woman stepped closer to the fire, illuminating her naked figure. Her skin was a dark brown which made her white markings stand out beautifully as it contrast against her skin. Her hair was jet black, all done in small braids with two white beads at the end of each braided strand making them clink together as she walked closer. The top half of her hair was pulled back in a bun, leaving the bottom half to flow around her thighs. Her eyes were a striking yellow outlined with bright green and her skin had small scales telling Kagome that the woman was a reptile of some sort. Then she saw the staff in her hand, the top of it had a small skull of a ram and that was when she realized what the woman was, a Shaman. A Shaman of the evil kind._

 _"Three...The phoenix, the sea serpent, and the shadow wolf." The shadow figure answered and the werewolf huffed. "They are looking for the forth book as we speak."_

 _"Hmmm... She already has the two strongest guardians. I did not expect her to have that many yet. I shall have to update our master on this. But first we need to slow her down. She is finding the books too fast. Yami, I want you to plague her dreams. Make sure to use her worst fears against her." She watched as the shadow nodded his head._

 _"Fenrir I want you to track her group down and keep an eye on them. Slow them down as much as you can." The wolf nodded before Kagome watched the two answer 'Yes Lady Ashanti'._

 _"Where would you have me go?" Yami asked as he turned to look at Ashanti._

 _"Continue what you have been doing. Curse every demon you find. Master is getting impatient for his army. He wants every demonic soul, the human souls are not strong enough for the upcoming war." Yami nodded before standing up, Fenrir noticed this and did the same._

 _"Where shall we find you once our tasks are complete?" Fenrir asked his last question before he would depart to start his mission._

 _"Once you are done then meet me back in Japan. I must help Akuma's Champion to find the last book. It is the only book he is concerned about. As long as we get that guardian then it won't matter how many guardians the Miko has, we will be unstoppable." Ashanti said with a smirk and the other two gave similar smiles as they looked at each other._

The vision started to fade back to nothing and Kagome started to become lightheaded. Nisshoku patiently waited for Kagome to open her eyes before asking his questions.

"What did you see?" Kagome took a deep breath and told him everything she saw and heard. She explained what the three figures looked like along with their name and told him of all their plans. Nisshoku nodded and a look of recognition crossed his face.

"What is it?" Kagome asked him nervously.

"Fenrir I don't recognize but the other two I do. Ashanti and Yami have been loyal to my father for a long time. Yami is a shadow youaki. Shadow demons, if powerful enough, develop an ability to enter your dreams. They can even control you through them if they wanted too. These demons are known as Dreamwalkers. Yami is the most powerful of his kind and we will need to be careful. Luckily I know a spell that will protect you from his magic." Kagome nodded as she thought about this. She will have to be careful here on out. Once he finds out that he can't control her he might try to control those around her.

"And what about Ashanti?" Kagome asked nervously. The woman gave Kagome the worst feeling of dread.

"Ashanti is my father's main General. She is a black cobra youkai. Before she became loyal to my father she was a dark Shaman that terrorized her homeland. She is even more powerful then Yami. She is also known as a shapeshifter like myself. With her helping my father's Champion worries me, we will have to be extra careful." Kagome bit her bottom lip as she thought about this.

"Should we head back to Japan?" Nisshoku shook his head no and Kagome gave him a confused look.

"No, without the amulet they won't find the book right away. All she knows is that it is there. We need to focus on the other books first and this Fenrir and Yami. It is a good thing that they are all separated." Kagome nodded her agreement and sighed. Facing all three of them at once wouldn't be wise.

"Well, let's move on to your next card." Nisshoku said and gave Kagome a small smile to lighten her up a bit. Kagome smiled back and took another deep breath.

"This next card I want you to place on the left side next to your other two cards. This card will represent your past." Kagome nodded and did as he told her to do. Looking down at the card Kagome saw a heart floating in the sky as it rains with three swords going through it. It was the Three of Swords card. Kagome gave out a shuddering breath as she looked at the card. This card represented her past very well. This is a card of rejection, heartbreak, betrayal, separation, and grief. Kagome looked back up at Nisshoku and shook her head. She wasn't going to try and see into that card, she refused too. Nisshoku nodded without her having to saying anything. He understood why she wouldn't want to see her past, she wasn't ready. It was something they would have to do at a later time when she was strong enough to face it. He will have to explain to her that the events in her past might hold some useful information.

"The next card I want you to lay on the right side. This card represents your future." Kagome sniffed before drawing her next card. Her future card had a man in armor standing in a canopy chariot with two sphinxes laying down in front of it, one black and the other was white. This is The Chariot card. This card represented conquest, victory, and overcoming any opposition through your confidence and control. Kagome gave Nisshoku a smile as she looked at this card. This one she was more then willing to see into. Kagome eagerly held her hand over the card and focused her powers into it.

Unlike the time when she seen into The Devil card these images came in flashes. The first was of a large village, the biggest Kagome has ever seen with snow capped mountains in the back ground. Off in the distance she could see seven castles that were built in different ways displaying their owners culture. The next image was of herself fighting a shadowed figure but what disturbed her was that she was pinned down and the shadow was about to run his sword through her. Then the last image was of her and another small figure in a white robe standing side by side, their hands folded in a prayer as they chanted creating a large purple seal that spread across the ground the shadow figure was standing on. Kagome opened her eyes once the images faded and told Nisshoku want she saw.

"Do you know what any of those images could mean?" Nisshoku shrugged.

"I'm not sure Kagome. They were too vague. But perhaps the seal you saw is how we beat my father. Though I haven't seen or heard of a seal that you described." Kagome nodded and reached for her satchel. She want to draw the seal she saw. When she was done Nisshoku told her to draw her next card.

"This card I want you to place above your first and second card. This card is to guide you in what it is you need to do to reach the future you had just seen." Kagome gave a nod and picked up her next card. This card had a burly man with a crown on his head, sitting on his throne. This was The Emperor card. The Emperor represented leadership, creating order, structure, logic, and reason. Holding her hand over the card Kagome got quick flashes of youkai villages. Three of the villages she recognize since she had already been there so she assumed the others were villages she was suppose to go to. Nisshoku nodded, he agreed that his thoughts were the same.

"Now I want you to place your sixth card below your first and second one. This card is telling you what is holding you back from what you are trying to accomplish." Doing as he said Kagome laid the next one down and studied the card. The card showed a sun with the moon inside it, sky was dark showing that it was night time. At the bottom of the card was water with a craw fish crawling out of it onto a path that went though the valley into the mountains in the background. On the left side of the card showed a dog barking at the sun/moon and a wolf on the right side of the path doing the same thing. This was The Moon card and it represented your fears, anxiety, insecurity, and subconscious. Holding her hand over the card she waited for the images but instead of seeing images she felt them. All her fears of not being good enough, all her self doubt grew inside her and it made her flinch back. Quickly she pulled her hand back and looked at Nisshoku shaking her head. Nisshoku sighed, this was something she needed to over come.

"Kagome if you want to succeed then you need to overcome these fears. You were chosen for a reason and no one else can do this. You were meant to do this... You were created for it. Have faith in yourself. The gods chose you to be their champion. They don't just choose their champions on a whim." Kagome slowly nodded as she thought about what he said. It would take time for her to overcome these feelings though.

"I want you to draw your seventh card and place it next to your future card. This card is your key card. The key card a lot of times represents a person, someone you will need to help to your future." Kagome drew her seventh card and laid it next to The Chariot card. At the top of the card showed a sun shinning down on the land. Below the sun was an angel with his arms spread open and his eyes closed. On the left side was a naked woman and on the right was a naked man.

"The Lovers card!" Kagome gasped and looked at Nisshoku, he laughed and gave her a smirk.

"Why so surprised Kagome? Did you think you were going to be alone forever?" Kagome looked down and started to twist her hands together. Nisshoku grimaced before giving out a sigh. Those were her thoughts exactly. He shook his head, she really needed to work on her self esteem. 'Maybe Inari can help her better on that.' He thought as he watched her put her hand over the card.

Kagome was nervous...Would the card show her who her soul mate was? She hoped so but at the same time she was scared to find out. Taking a deep breath, Kagome put her hand over the card. The card only gave her one image and she was a little frustrated to see the man was shadowed. The man was tall, his armor looked slightly familiar but she couldn't place it. His hair was pulled up into a ponytail on top of his head but because he was in the shadows she couldn't see the color. The only thing she could see clearly was his gold colored eyes. She wasn't the least bit surprised that the male was youkai. Kagome sighed as she opened her eyes.

"He was shadowed." She said with a pout and Nisshoku laughed. "Of course he was little one. It can't be that easy."

"He is youkai though, I could tell by his eyes." Nisshoku nodded. "That makes sense, he will need to stand by your side through time after all." Kagome smiled to herself. She could feel hope and excitement run through her. In the end she will find love.

"The last card I want you to draw is your final outcome. I want you to place this card next to your lovers card." Kagome picked up her final card and laid it next to the Lovers card.

This card had a naked woman dancing in the middle of a wreath. On the top left corner was a head of a woman. On the top right corner was a head of an eagle, the left bottom corner was a head of a bull, and finally on the bottom right corner was a head of a lion. This was The World card. Kagome smile at this card, it represented completion, achievement, integration, and travel. Putting her hand out one last time Kagome waited for the images. She saw the large village again but this time it had youkai and humans walking through the streets. She watched as the image slowly zoomed closer to the middle palace and saw herself standing on the balcony in her mates arms, who was still shadowed much to her irritation. Behind her stood seven other youkai. Two of them she recognized, Durai the leader from India and Nazar the leader from Russia. Kagome opened her eyes and smiled.

"Youkai and humans are at peace. It showed us all together." Nisshoku smiled and nodded.

"Now we need to make sure this outcome happens." Kagome nodded but then pouted again.

"What's wrong little one?" He asked her in confusion.

"It still didn't show me where the next book was." She answered back with a pout and Nisshoku couldn't help but laugh.

Kagome huffed again before standing up to stretch. Then she excused herself, she had an overwhelming need to relieve her bladder. She quickly but very carefully walked down the rocky path around the mountain side. The group had found a rather large, flat cliff to settle down on for the night. Once she was done with her business she got back up and started to head back to camp. Just as Kagome turned the corner she felt a shiver go up her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Stopping she quickly looked around, she felt as if she was being watched and immediately she thought of the werewolf. Looking around she saw nothing out of the ordinary. The moon provided enough light for her to see around her. Turning to her right, Kagome looked out over the edge of the cliff scanning the other mountains but again saw nothing. Just as she went to continue walking she caught something out of the corner of her eye and snapped her head back to look again. It was too dark to make out a figure but she could definitely make out two little white eyes looking at her from the top of one of the mountains across the valley. They continued to stare at each other, Kagome tried to hold off her need to blink in fear that if she did the eyes would disappear and sure enough when she finally did they were gone. She scanned the valley again but couldn't find the eyes. Quickly she made her way back to camp and told the others. Nisshoku told her to lay down and get some rest, he would keep watch tonight. As everyone laid down Nisshoku whispered an incantation to protect Kagome from the Dreamwalker and looked out across the valley. He didn't think it was the werewolf that was watching them, the way the wind was blowing he would have smelled him but then again he knew nothing of this dog. They would have to be very careful here on out.

* * *

The next two days it was the same, the group would take turns being on watch once they set up camp and tonight it was Kagome's turn. Every night she had the same feeling of being watched but she still couldn't find the eyes again. This time though they were camping in a small cave and it made her feel a little bit more at ease.

It was around midnight and Kagome was bored out of her mind. The rest of the group was fast asleep as she continued to watch the fire burn. Looking down at her tarot cards Kagome gave out a sigh. She was trying to see if she could get anymore visions from the cards but she was having no such luck. Finally giving up, Kagome gathered her cards and put them away. Standing up, she stretched and decided to go outside to stargaze. It was something she had always enjoyed doing. As she made her way out though she got a different kind of surprise. Gasping in amazement, Kagome looked up and watched in awe as the bright green, blue, and purple wisps danced in the sky. Back home Kagome had seen pictures of the Northern Lights before but to see them in person about made her heart stop. They were so beautiful and Kagome knew she would never forget this moment in time for as long as she lived.

She wanted a closer look, so she looked around in excitement and Kagome saw a ledge higher up on the mountain. She decided to use her flame portal to get herself up there. With a quick flash of fire she was standing at the top and she continued to gaze up at the lights. A sense of calm took over her, not even the cold winds could bring her down. Tilting her head to the side Kagome looked at them closely. She could actually make out a shape in between the wisps. The way the lights were dancing there was a piece of the star filled sky they left opened. Studying it closer Kagome could make out a shape that kind of looked like a dragon soaring through the sky. A smile touched her lips as she thought that it might be a sign. They were close, The Northern Lights was one of her visions.

Kagome was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a deep rumbling coming from behind her. Quickly turning away from the lights she came face to face with the white eyes she had seen two night before only this time they were so much larger. Taking a couple steps back Kagome gave a startled yelp as she fell on her ass. Below her, she could hear her guardians calling her name as they came out of the cave but Kagome never took her eyes off the beast in front of her. With the wisps lighting up the sky she could now see the figure clearly. The large dragon picked it's head up and looked down at Kagome. It had looked like the dragon had been laying down on top of the mountain but Kagome was surprised that it chose this mountain because they were camping here. She heard Saisei calling out to her and quickly replied back, telling him she was ok. Slowly she stood up, never taking her eyes off the dragon and the dragon doing the same. She could see the weary look in it's eyes. Taking a step forward, Kagome held her hand out to show she meant no harm. She watched as the dragon lowered it's head and let Kagome touch it's snout. She couldn't help but giggle when it let out a snort and the force of it blew Kagome's hood back. But the moment was broken as her guardians made their way up to the top and the dragon pulled back. Kagome watched as the beast spread it's large opal wings and with one powerful flap it was in the air. The group watched as it circled around twice before disappearing off in the night.

"Are you hurt?" Kagome shook her head and gave Saisei a small smile.

"It was the dragon watching us." Kagome said as she watched the beast disappear. The group didn't say anything but they nodded. They all took some time to watch the lights together before heading back down into the cave to rest. On the other side of the valley white eyes continued to watch the small group again as they settled back down.

'She is the one.' The dragon thought to herself. She just hoped the little priestess would be excepted when she finally reached her nest. Her kind was close to dying and if her son didn't take the little priestess's help then they were sure to fall.

* * *

The next three days the group continued forward. They had noticed that the dragon was still flying around, never straying far from the group. Kagome got the feeling that the beast was leading them somewhere and so she followed. Saisei thought that they should transform and follow by flight but Kagome quickly shook her head no. She was fine with land animals but every time she shape-shifted into his form she always ended up with a crash landing, which hurt...a lot! She knew now that the dragon shape in the Northern Lights was sign because every night they would appear and they would make the same shape but their new friend never settled down close to them again after that first night and she couldn't help but wonder if it feared her guardians.

She was proven wrong that night when the group settled down though. It was around midnight when the group got an unexpected visitor. Kagome and her guardians quickly got up and took a fighting stance when they heard a soft feminine voice call out to the miko from the shadows.

"Who is their?" Kagome asked softly, trying to keep her voice steady as she searched the shadows for the feminine voice. There was slight movement to her left coming from a cluster of medium sized boulders. Slowly a female emerged from the darkness, she was dressed in a long white dress with a pure white fur cape draped around her shoulders. Her snow white hair was left down, the bottom three inches of it dragging behind her as she walked closer. Her eyes stuck out to Kagome the most though, it was clouded by a white film that told her that the woman standing before her was blind. The power that swirled around the dragoness was nerve racking. There was something out-worldly about her that made Kagome edgy.

Saisei, Misuto, and Nisshoku tensed and stepped closer to Kagome as the unknown female continued forward. The woman wasn't deterred though and continued to walk closer, only stopping when she was two feet from Kagome. Reaching her hand out, the woman moved it slowly to Kagome's face, making sure not to startle her. Kagome allowed the touch more or less out of her own curiosity. Lowering her blades, Kagome forced her body to relax and her guardians did the same but only slightly. Kagome held her breath as she waited for the dragoness and was taken back when she fell to her knees and bowed low to the ground, her head almost touching the ground.

"Volva, this one is in desperate need of your gifts. This Astrid has been waiting for you for such a long time. I beg you, please help my people." Kagome stood speechless, not sure what to make of the woman kneeling in front of her. She glanced at her guardians and saw them fully relax and put their weapons away. Nisshoku was the first to notice Kagome's confusion so he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Volva is a title for a priestess, witch, oracle, or seer. To the Norse they are held in the highest esteem." Kagome gave a slight nod in understanding before clearing her throat and knelt down to face the Dragoness.

"What can I help you with Lady Astrid?" Astrid slowly lifted her head but stayed silent for a few more minutes. A slight shiver went up her spine as she looked into Astrid's eyes. She knew the Dragoness was blind but she couldn't shake the feeling that she could see perfectly.

"My people are dying and my son is misguided. He believes we have upset the great Logi and our souls are being drained from our earthly vessels as punishment. But... but you know differently don't you? You know what is happening to us and you know how to stop it. I've seen you do it." Kagome didn't know what to say. She was more than a little shocked.

"Yes, I do know what's going on but how did you know that?" Before Astrid could answer Nisshoku decided to answer for her.

"You're a seer..." He stated more then questioned and Astrid gave a nod to confirm it.

"Yes, as I've said... I have been waiting for you for a very long time."

"Just how much do you know about me?" Kagome asked, a little unnerved by what Astrid had revealed.

"This Astrid has seen many things. All the people you have saved, all the struggles you have endured, and all the wonderful things you will accomplish. This one knows much about you, like the journey you are on and the importance of the tomes you look for. This one has also seen where you hail from and knows what you are... who you will become." Kagome stared at Astrid in silence as she thought about what she heard. Did she truly know everything? She felt extremely exposed to this woman and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"What exactly do you think I will become? How do you know I will succeed? I could fail... The weight on my shoulders get heavier by the day." Kagome stiffened slightly as Astrid straightened and gave her a stern stare.

"Because you are the strongest of us. You are both a curse and a blessing, the black dragon from our oldest of prophecies. But most importantly you are the High Priestess of Midgard. You will bring the Midgard leaders together and fight in a divine war to prevent Ragnarok from occurring. The signs are already upon us and that is why this Astrid has seeked your help." Kagome sat stunned. She wasn't all that familiar with Norse beliefs but she did know what Ragnarok was. It is what the Norse believe to be as the end of the world, the fight of the gods. Pretty much what she recognized as Armageddon and she was right, that pretty much was what was happening. Now she had to figure out how to win this war and save everyone.

"What do you mean by a curse and a blessing? I don't see how Kagome is a curse." Saisei's voice snapped Kagome out of thought and she looked back at Astrid curiously.

"The Black Dragon is a prophecy that was told from our very first Seer. It is said that at the end of days a Black Dragon will rise and fight a great evil that will destroy all of Midgard. Only the Black Dragon has the strength to face the God and prevent Ragnarok from occurring. This dragon will bring all of Midgard together and be the leader of all the Midgard leaders. So the curse is that by her appearing she brings struggle and death but once she is victorious she brings peace and prosperity. She will be praised til the sun sets for the final time and no one will be of higher station than her for she is the Mother of Midgard. It is only her fire that can keep the darkness at bay and bring eternal light." The conviction in which Astrid spoke in left Kagome breathless. She didn't know how to take it all in and her first instinct was to deny it and tell her she had the wrong person. But the strength that she spoke in and the hard stare she gave Kagome made her pause.

"Well you defiantly found the right girl! Gome is going save everyone. It's just like the prophecy back at home Gome." Misuto said excitedly as she plopped down next to Kagome and gave a big smile. Kagome blushed and was about to deny it but Astrid spoke up before she could.

"My son also has one of the tomes you seek, it is at our nest." Kagome straightened and snapped her attention back to Astrid.

"You have one of the books? They are very important to us and we would appreciate it if we could see it." Kagome rushed in excitement and Astrid nodded.

"Of course,This one know how important they are but first This Astrid needs your help. My son isn't going to part with any of his treasures easily." Kagome nodded in understanding. "What can we do for you then Lady Astrid?"

"My son is the Jarl of our people and he is a wonderful leader, the best one we have had in thousands of years but This one believes he is about to make a grave mistake. Our people are losing their souls and slowly their powers are fading, most have already lost their heart element. Even my wind is getting weaker by the day and my son's lightning barely has a spark left to strike. Their is no fire left to burn, no frost left to freeze, and no water left to rain. This one's nest is in a panic and have come to blame my son for this but you and I know the true reasons why this is happening." Kagome nodded but she was a little confused as to what exactly Astrid meant with her little riddle but she got the important part about their souls.

"Why do they blame your son?" Astrid sighed before she spoke further. "Most believe this is happening because Ragnvaldr mated his love instead of waiting for the next seer. Our noble family has always mated the Seer of our people but in the last thousand years not one Seer has been born... Until my granddaughter. Ragnvaldr mated a flame dragoness by the name of Freyja, she was of common birth but that didn't deter him. They have two hatch-lings, my grandson Byggvir and my granddaughter Olyvia. When Olyvia was born our mountain started to awaken and everyone took that as a sign from the gods. And now that my precious Olyvia has come of age to receive her rites of the sight the mountain has slowly been bleeding fire. Everyone is in a panic and believe that Olyvia was sired by the wrong mated couple and if her parents hadn't of mated then she would have been Ragnvaldr's true soul mate. They believe this has angered Logi, our god of fire, and now he demands a sacrifice before his anger subsides. They are demanding that Olyvia be sacrificed so she can be reborn and take her rightful place." Astrid sniffed when she finished and Kagome grabbed her hand to comfort her.

"Is he going to sacrifice is daughter?" Misuto asked in horror and Astrid slowly shook her head.

"He doesn't want to but Olyvia is set to do so... To appease Logi and the people. Ragnvaldr has finally given in and has set the sacrifice to happen tomorrow at dusk. Please, we need your help! This one can't lose her Olyvia. If you heal the people and stop Logi then Olyvia can be saved! You are the only one that can stop this." Kagome had a quick flash of the woman in her vision. She was youthful, her golden eyes still held her innocence and her long white hair that was tinted orange when the light hit it just right was in a disarray as the wind played with it. The young woman had been standing on the edge, looking down into the mouth of a volcano and Kagome just knew that had to be Olyvia. Looking back up at Astrid, Kagome gave her a nod, of course she would do it. She didn't want anymore innocent deaths to happen. Astrid smiled and kissed Kagome's hand in gratitude making Kagome blush. Pulling her hand back, Kagome stood and helped Astrid to her feet.

"How far is your nest from here?" Kagome asked as she turned to walk back to the camp fire, Astrid following slightly behind her. "About 2 days walk from here, less then one if we fly." Kagome stopped and started to shuffle nervously. She hated to shift into flight animals, she could fly just fine but she wasn't all that great at landing. Her landing left her with numerous cuts and bruises, she cringed slightly at the thought of the last time she crashed. But looking at Astrid and the new hope that surrounded her Kagome knew she had too. Plus if she is suppose to be this black dragon they believed in then she didn't really have a choice.

"Alright, we will leave at dawn then." Kagome whispered and everyone nodded in agreement before settling themselves down to rest, they knew tomorrow was going to be a long day for all of them.

* * *

As the sun's first rays started to peak over the horizon, Kagome was awakened by a small shake from Astrid. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly sat up and gave Astrid a nod before getting up to pack her things, her guardians noticed this and started to do the same.

"I've never changed into a dragon before so I'm going to need you to shift into your true form first Lady Astrid." Astrid gave a small nod before putting a large amount of space between herself and the rest of the group. Kagome could feel a powerful surge of youkai coming from Astrid as the wind started to circle around her, spinning faster and faster before completely hiding Astrid from sight. With a final burst of youkai the wind started to slow and revealed a white opal colored dragon staring down at them. Kagome gasped in awe, she was even more beautiful in the sunlight then in the dark. The way her scales gleamed in all different colors made her the most beautiful dragon she has ever seen. Looking at her closely Kagome noticed some differences from the Japanese dragons that she met back at home, which wasn't a lot but still very different. Most dragons she has seen either resembled a snake like body with two arms and two legs or they looked like Ah Un, neither had wings. Astrid on the other hand had a long reptilian body and two hind legs, her wings and arms were one in the same. When she folded her wings just right she could prop her upper body up. At the end of the wings was a single large claw used for digging into a rocky side of a mountain. Her head was like most dragons she had seen except for her horns, which looked like ram horns as they curled up and around, the ends running along side her jaw but just slightly lower.

Kagome called forth her reiki and lightly examined Astrid, using her powers to study everything about her inside and out, she had to make sure she got everything right or it could be dangerous for her. Once confident she started to concentrate and imagine what she wanted in her mind. The others stepped back as Kagome's reiki started to build. Pink wisps stretched and curled around her growing bigger and bigger as Kagome poured more of her power into it and when she finally had enough their was a burst of light and Kagome transformed. Her body stretched and twisted as it molded into a new shape and once the light died down a large black dragon stood where Kagome once was. Her body was formed just like Astrid's except for her horns. Instead of having just two horns she had three, The two on the side of her head sloped up before curving slightly, going straight back and she had a single small sharp horn on the tip of her snout. Her body was obsidian black in color with a blue tint where the sun would reflect off it, her eyes an electrified blue. She made a soft rumbling in her chest before breathing out through her nose. Turning her head slightly to the left, she looked at her guardians and watched as they gave a small nod before disappearing, their light going straight into her chest. They had decided the night before that it would be best to keep the guardians hidden until she had the book. Looking back over to Astrid, Kagome made a deep rumbling sound and nodded her head, she was ready. She watched as Astrid leaned back on her hind legs and unfolded her wings, with two powerful flaps she was air born and Kagome followed right behind her.

There was mostly silence for the first ten hours of the trip, Astrid only broke it once when she noticed it was almost dusk and both started to fly faster. Off in the distance Kagome could see steam rising and knew that had to be their destination. She had spent the trip thinking about how to solve the volcano problem and still wasn't sure what she was going to do. She just hoped that they weren't too late. She had no idea how she was going to make any of this work but she knew she had to try. She had to save these people and she had to get this book. Too much was riding on this so failing wasn't an option. It took another two hours before the volcano came in sight. Kagome flew up so she was flying next to Astrid and surveyed their surrounding. Their had to be over fifty thousand youkai, starting from the base of the mountain going up into an ancient crater at the top. All of them were bowed, on there hands and knees and as Kagome got closer she could slightly hear them praying. Astrid snapped her out of thought as her deep rumble caught her attention. Speaking in her ancestors ancient language, Kagome was able to understand her due to her being in a dragon form.

'It's almost time, the drums are starting which means my granddaughter approaches the sacrificing alter. We must hurry but I won't be able to make it in time.' Kagome nodded and was about to take off towards the volcano when Astrid stopped her again. 'Volva...' Kagome looked back at Astrid. 'Show no fear... my people respect strength. You need to display great strength and fearlessness and they will bow to you. All will heed your command and follow you to the deepest depths of Helheim if you do.' Kagome took a deep breath before nodding. 'NOW GO!' And with that Kagome took off and flew as fast as she could.

People looked up as a large black shadow covered them and gasped in awe. Everyone immediately knew who she was. She followed the winding path up the mountain and was almost to the top of the crater when the drums stopped. The last of the sun's light sunk into the horizon as Kagome gave one more powerful flap of her wings pushing herself over the crater's edge. Out of desperation, Kagome let out a roar so loud that it vibrated down to her very bones, she hoped that it was enough to stop everyone in their tracks. Thousands turned to look at her, most in awe and some in fear but their was only one she was focused on. Only a quarter of the crater's floor was missing and Kagome knew that was where Olyvia was. Ignoring everything around her Kagome surged forward to cross the crater, heading towards Olyvia who was on the other side. It was the moment in her vision where she turned to look behind her and Kagome realized it was because of her that she turned.

She was about half way to Olyvia when she heard the screams, looking down Kagome saw the people below her start to fall to their knees as the mountain started to shake violently. She knew she didn't have much time. Looking back up Kagome saw Olyvia waver before falling over the edge. The sound of Olyvia's mother screaming became louder then the others around her and Kagome pushed herself faster. It only took her a couple seconds before reaching the mouth and without thought she dived towards Olyvia's falling figure. With a powerful push, Kagome dived and folded her wings close to her body making her cut through the air faster. She was almost there and that was when Kagome noticed it. The way the lava bubbled and splashed up against the sides told Kagome that this volcano was about to erupt. As she passed Olyvia's body she started to build her powers up, there was only one thing she could do with only split seconds left before all hell broke loose.

Once she was far enough below Olyvia, Kagome pulled up and unfolded her wings to slow her fall. She felt Olyvia's small body hit between her shoulder blades and felt her grab onto one of the small dull horns along her spine. With a powerful flap of her wings Kagome headed back up, the lava rising quickly behind her. She could feel Olyvia straighten her body in an up right position and Kagome rumbled to her to hold on tightly. She didn't hear a response back but she did feel her take the advice. Kagome pushed every once of power she had into her throat but she feared it might not be enough. Something felt odd to her though, like something deep inside her was teetering on the edge of breaking. Kagome thought the hell with it, at this precise moment it was an all or nothing scenario. So she pushed her powers further breaking the seal inside, tripling the power in her. Olyvia gasped as she looked down at Kagome's spine, Misuto's symbol glowed brightly as it lent Kagome more power. Kagome finally broke past the mouth of the volcano but she didn't stop, she kept going higher waiting for the sound of the eruption she knew was coming... And that's when it happened.

Kagome folded her wings close to her body again, making her turn and fall backwards towards the ground. Once she was facing towards the crater she saw a large spout of lava heading towards her very fast. Opening her giant maws, Kagome unleashed all the pent up power she had been building in her throat. A powerful blast of ice burst forth towards the lava, freezing everything it touched as she continued to fall. Freezing everything completely solid she kept pushing more power out of her mouth. The ice rapidly moving down, past the mouth of the volcano and into the main magma vent. Opening her wings back up, she flipped herself back around and braced herself for the hard impact of her landing. Half of the craters floor was gone now because of the explosion but luckily everyone was smart enough to evacuate the crater before hand. Her feet finally touched the ground and the impact jarred her a little bit but wasn't as nearly as bad as the last time. Looking over the edge she saw the ice slowly being developed by the lava again. Opening her mouth back up, she pushed more ice back out and she didn't stop until everything was covered. Hopping off the ledge and landing on the newly formed ice, she continued to spit out more of it. She wouldn't stop until she was sure it was all frozen. Once satisfied, she flew back up to the ledge before turning back around to fill the hole completely. when she was finally done she was completely out of breath... and exhausted. Looking up, both herself and Olyvia admired the huge spike of solid ice that she created, she just hoped that she was able to freeze everything but just encase she was going to warn others to evacuate if the mountain started to shake again.

Kagome was snapped out of thought when a whining howl pierced the silence. Both her and Olyvia turned their head in the direction of the noise but the rest of the crater was vacant. "That was my mother's cry." Kagome heard Olyvia's soft voice answer her silent question. Kagome lifted herself back on her hind legs and with a strong flap of her wings she pushed herself into the air. It only took her a couple seconds to reach the lip of the craters edge and she slowed down before reaching out with both of her sharp hooks that were at the end of her wings to catch the ledge. Pulling herself up to look over, she noticed everyone had gathered at the base of the mountain. She could feel Olyvia's small body climbing up her neck and settle at the top of her head, she too was curious as to what was going on below. Down below was nothing but a large mass of demons gathered at the base, in the middle were three large dragons. One was opal which Kagome recognized as Astrid but the other two she had no idea. She figured the red one had to be Olyvia's mother, Lady Freyja. She was being held down by Astrid and a very large golden dragon. If she had to guess, that would be Jarl Ragnvaldr, Olyvia's father. Kagome gave out a small rumble asking Olyvia what was going on.

"Mother is trying to get to me... Her and father have been fighting since it was announce that I would be sacrificed. Mother tried to get me to leave to protect me but I refused to go. Logi demanded a sacrifice." Kagome gave out an unladylike snort but didn't say anything. Who ever Logi was he defiantly wasn't demanding a sacrifice. It was just a volcano that was about to erupt, that's all... Nothing more, nothing less. But she knew telling them that wouldn't do any good so she kept it to herself. They watched Olyvia's parents fight for a couple more minutes before Kagome decided she has seen enough.

Giving out another rumble to warn Olyvia, she waited until she felt the young dragoness slide back down her neck. Once she was secure, Kagome moved her hind leg up further before simultaneously unhooking her claws and using her hind legs to push herself back from the cliff. Opening her wings wide, Kagome propelled herself forward. As she flew forward she gave out a thundering howl and quickly headed towards the three dragons. Slowing herself down Kagome gave those below her enough time to move before landing, a bit clumsy yes but she was just happy that she was finally getting the hang of it. Giving out another intimidating growl, Kagome made sure she had both Jarl Ragnvaldr and Lady Freyja's attention. It was then when Kagome noticed a smaller figure standing by Lady Freyja's side, whispering calm words to her. The young man had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He looked to be around 18 years old. She remembered that Lady Astrid had said she has two grandchildren so this must be Prince Byggvir, Ragnvaldr's heir.

Lowering her neck, Kagome waited until she felt Olyvia slide off before lifting her head back up. As soon as her feet touched the ground Olyvia took off towards her mother. "Mother! It's me mother, I'm here. I'm not hurt!" Kagome watched as Astrid and Ragnvaldr lifted their claws to let Freyja get up. Freyja brought her snout down to sniff at her daughter, reassuring herself that she was indeed alive. Ragnvaldr soon join in to comfort his mate and hatch-lings as well. He too had been worried, but his mother reassured him that his daughter would be ok. He just had to keep his mate from getting herself killed in an attempt to save their daughter. Kagome watch as the five dragons crowded around each other and was proud of herself, she was relieved that she was able to help but she knew her job wasn't done yet. Looking around, Kagome saw all the other demons that still needed her help as well. She was tired but she wasn't going to let that stop her. Leaning back, Kagome propelled herself back up into the air and pushed herself forward. Thankfully everyone was crowded around each other, it was going to make this so much easier for her.

The rune symbols on Kagome's back started to glow brightly again as she called forth her reiki. Concentrating on her healing abilities, Kagome made a sharp turn so she was facing the mass of demons. Everyone below her turned up to stare at her wondering what she was doing and watched as she opened her maws. A bright pink ball of light started to grow bigger and bigger as she put more power into it. Some began to panic, thinking she was about to hurt them but before they could get very far Kagome unleashed the ball of pink light. The blast was like a strong pink current of wind, healing everything it touched. It only took at total of ten seconds to reach every soul in the crowd. Slowly she began to lower herself to the ground, she barely had enough strength to keep herself from crashing but once she was settled her large body collapsed. She watched everyone around her, her eyes barely open.

It took everyone a few minutes but soon they all felt the healing effects. Lady Astrid knew what Kagome did and excitement coursed through her. Pushing herself up into the air, she flew off to the side before hovering in place. It took her a couple minutes to build her power but once she had enough she released it. A huge tornado started to form, picking up all the snow near it as it tore through the empty valley she aimed it at. Their heart elements were healed. They were all healed and it was thanks to Kagome. Ragnvaldr noticed what his mother was doing and joined her, Freyja not far behind him. Both of them hovering next to Astrid as they too tested their power. Freyja unleashed a great ball of fire into the near by lake and Ragnvaldr release a powerful burst of lightning the lit up everything for miles. Excitement raced through the crowd as other dragons started to change into their true forms, something none of them had been able to do for decades, and everyone started to bellow out their joy.

Astrid looked around for Kagome and spotted her still form at the edge of the crowd. Worry took over her as she raced off and crashed down next to her. Reigning in her youkai, Astrid took her humanoid form and touched Kagome's snout. Kagome cracked open her eyes to look at Astrid before pink light developed her. Once it faded Kagome's body laid there on the ground, unmoving. Astrid quickly picked her up and checked her breathing. She gave out a sigh of relief when she noticed that she was ok, just exhausted. The ground shook as her son landed right by her, turning with Kagome still in her arms she spoke.

"She's resting... We must take her to the nest."

* * *

Kagome could hear soft murmuring going on around her. She felt so tired but for some reason the noise kept bothering her, her body refusing to go back to resting. Shifting slightly, she turned her head and noticed the noise stopped. Cracking her eyes open slightly everything was nothing but a blur of color, it took a couple of blinks before her vision started to clear. She gave out a small gasp when she noticed two big golden eyes staring at her, inches from her face. Then the face lifted away from her and she realized it was Olyvia as she gave Kagome a big smile.

"Good evening Volva. This one is glad to see you awake. Father and mother will be pleased." Kagome gave a small smile back and nodded. She doubted she was going to be able to go back to sleep now. Looking at Olyvia she noticed that she looked to be either 15 or 16 years old, she didn't know how old in actual year because demons age slower. She had bright golden eyes and long white hair ending at her waist that had several small braids in it. When the light hit it though it turned orange which was kind of fascinating. She wore a long white dress made of silk that had red dragons flying around on it and a grey fur shawl around her shoulders. Movement to her left caught her attention and she noticed the heir step forward.

"Olyvia, go tell grandmother that she is awake." Olyvia gave a slight frown "Don't be rude brother, you will address her as Volva. Father said she is to be treated with the highest respect." Byggvir frowned but nodded his understanding.

"This Byggvir apologizes Volva, being rude wasn't my intention." Kagome nodded and gave another small smile. She watched as Olyvia got up and headed towards the door leaving her and Byggvir alone. She took a few moments to study him. He had to be close to 6'0 tall. He had short messy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. On his forehead was a rune symbol which she figured was something that had to do with his noble line. He wore a plain black long sleeve silk shirt and what looked like black leather pants. His voice broke her out of thought.

"May this one ask you a question Volva?" Kagome gave a nod as she watched him cross his arms and lean against the wall.

"How is it that you're human. This one has never seen a human turn into a dragon before. Has your kind found a magic that can do this?" Kagome thought for a moment before answering him.

"No, I am the only one that can do this. I guess you can say I'm not exactly human any more, haven't been for the last 20 years... And please, call me Kagome."

"This one must insist on calling you by your rightful title Volva... Father has demanded it." Kagome sighed but nodded anyway. Astrid choose that moment to walk through the door with Olyvia closely behind her, both women had their arms full of silk.

"Byggvir, why don't you leave us ladies to get ready for the feast. We shall see you this evening." Byggvir gave a nod and headed towards the door without protest, leaving the females alone. Astrid turned and gave Kagome a huge smile and Kagome gulped, she wasn't someone that really liked dressing up. She could tell this was going to be a long night.

The next hour was a blur of silk, make up, and hair tugging but Kagome guessed it was worth it when she turned to look at herself in the mirror. Astrid and Olyvia did a wonderful job at turning Kagome into a lady, she didn't even recognize herself. She wore a deep violet silk off the shoulder dress, the silk hugged her curves perfectly and flowed to the floor. Her blue eyes were outlined with charcoal and her lips painted a deep dark red, a very pale pink powder highlighted her cheek bone. The top of her hair was sectioned into five braids before pulled back to form one large braid going down her back, purple beads were added throughout the design.

"Absolutely beautiful Volva." Astrid praised as she finished by putting a black fur shawl around Kagome's bare shoulders. "Now you are ready." Kagome turned when Olyvia grabbed her hand and lead her through the door.

After going down a long hall they turned right and followed it to a set of double doors. Once they were opened Kagome's eyes widened when she looked inside. It was a massive dinning hall, the table looked like it could seat over a 100 people. At the very end she noticed a burly man sitting and enjoying his wine. His deep laugh echoed throughout the giant room as the beautiful woman next to him said something that was apparently very funny. If she had to guess, judging from their fine clothing, this was Jarl Ragnvaldr and Lady Freyja. The Jarl must have been where Byggvir got his rich golden hair from, except his was long and had a slight wave to it, thick braids randomly place throughout his mane. Ragnvaldr also had deep blue eyes as well. Lady Freyja had deep vibrant red locks all put in braids before being put into a very intricate bun, her eyes were the same golden color as Olyvia's. Both wore a thick golden circlet with a large ruby in the middle.

Ragnvaldr was the first to noticed Kagome's presence. Standing up, Kagome guessed him to be close to 7'0 tall. She watched as he spread his large arms out in a welcoming gesture and heard him call out to her.

"My good people, your Jarl is most pleased to introduce you to our new High Priestess, Lady Kagome. Please come closer child, take a seat." Cheers were heard from all around the table as they called out to her and banged their fist on the wood in joy. Kagome watched as he jestered towards his chair and shook her head. That was the Jarl chair... she wasn't suppose to sit their. She was about to say something but Astrid beat her to it. "Volva, your station is now higher than my son's. You get to sit at the head of the table." Astrid told her once she noticed Kagome's hesitation. Giving her a light push, Kagome approached the chair and once seated Ragnvaldr push her chair up closer to the table. Looking up at him she said a polite thank you before looking at those around her. She watched as Byggvir got up and moved down a seat to let his father sit on Kagome's left and noticed Astrid take the seat next to Lady Freyja, and Olyvia taking the seat next to her grandmothers.

Ragnvaldr waved for a servant and he gave something to his Jarl before disappearing off to the side. Standing back up, Ragnvaldr gave Kagome what looked like a hollowed out horn that was full with wine before facing his people again. "This one is honored that after over hundred thousand years, This Ragnvaldr gets to be the Jarl to bestow the High Priestess with her crown." Everyone erupted in loud cheering again and Kagome looked up only to look back down when she noticed he was putting something on her head. The circlet was made of pure silver, the thin metal bent into an intricate design with a beautiful large moonstone in the middle of it. Hanging off the bottom were three small tear drop diamonds that laid perfectly across Kagome's forehead. Looking back up she noticed everyone raising their wine filled horns before drinking from them. Kagome raised her own horn to her lips as well and took a small sip. She didn't have the slightest clue as to Viking customs but she most defiantly didn't want to be rude. Ragnvaldr sat back down and waved for the servants to bring out the food so they all could enjoy their feast.

* * *

Kagome sat on her bed of furs looking down at her amulet thinking of the past few hours. The feast had been wonderful once she was able to get herself to relax a little. She really enjoyed Jarl Ragnvaldr and Lady Freyja's company. She liked how the mated couple were carefree and easily joked around. Astrid broke her train of thought when she walked into the room. Looking up Kagome saw the book she had been looking for and got excited. Astrid smiled as she handed it over to Kagome.

The Fubuki No Sho, Kagome lightly ran her hand over the cover but stopped when her amulet glowed and one by one Saisei, Misuto, and Nisshoku appeared in the room.

Misuto gave a sudden squeal as she raced towards Kagome. "Onee-chan!"

"Great, the book of blizzards." Saisei grumbled and Kagome laughed. She was starting to think he hated all the other guardians.

"What are you waiting for High Priestess?" Nisshoku asked and gave her a teasing smirk. Kagome smiled then nodded. Opening the book, Kagome started the chant to open the portal. Giving one last look over her shoulder she smiled before walking through the black and purple wisps.

* * *

Walking through the other side, Kagome was hit by a blast of cold wind. Bringing her arms up to cover her face, she turned slightly to look around. She was standing at the edge of a snowy valley that was surround by huge mountains on every side. Turning around again, Kagome started to head towards the middle of the valley. She figured that was be her best bet in finding Misuto's older sister. The further she traveled the deeper the snow got. It was now up to her knees and the wind was whipping around her harder. She grabbed the fur shawl that was wrapped around her shoulder and pulled it closer. She was still dressed in her evening dress and now that she thought about it she probably should have changed.

Kagome stopped to catch her breath, the snow was getting harder to walk through now. Looking up she noticed the sun was right above her and she was so tempted to just plop down and rest for five minutes but before she could do that there was a sharp cracking noise coming from her right. Snapping her head in that direction her eyes widened drastically as an enormous avalanche was rapidly heading her way. She knew there was no way she could out run it, so thinking fast, Kagome started to build up her powers and braced herself for the impact. When the snow was seconds from her she outstretched her arm on each side of her and started to slowly raise them, bringing up a wall of flames from the ground. The higher her hands got the taller the wall got and as soon as the snow hit it turned to liquid and evaporated instantly. Once everything stopped moving Kagome dropped her wall. The piles of snow around her had to be at least ten feet high. She took a deep breath of relief but a loud purring noise caught her off guard and she straightened. Slowly she started to turn around.

Kagome was slightly startled when she saw a giant snow leopard resting in between two mountains just watching her. The two just stared at each other for a couple of minutes before the large cat got up and stretched her long lean body, then started to slink forward. The way she was looking at Kagome gave her the deepest of chills, she was defiantly a predator...And a powerful one at that. Slowly the leopard circled Kagome, sizing her up and when she finally spoke it cause Kagome to jump.

"So this is the great Volva..." Her voice came out with a purr as she still circled Kagome and Kagome slowly followed the cat's slow circles. "Yes... That is what the Vikings call me." Kagome forced her voice to stay strong and show this cat no fear.

"Hmmm... yes you are known by many different titles aren't you..." Kagome had a feeling that she was playing with her.

"Volva, Shikon Miko, God's Champion, and now... High Priestess. Quite the name you are making for yourself. It must feel good to be at the top doesn't it, hmmm? To have so many below you..." Kagome frowned not sure what game this cat was playing but whatever it was the feline was mislead. "No... I don't care for titles or for being the most powerful. My only concern right now is to save the innocent and stop Akuma."

"Truly Priestess? Are you really not enjoying this new powerful life you are leading. Everyone will soon bow to you, you will soon be the ruler of the world and you can honestly tell me that you don't enjoy it even the slightest bit? It's ok if you do, after all your hard work you deserve it, right?" Kagome paused for a minute, searching deep down into herself and frowned. She had lost her son, her family, everything that she had held dear to her. Was it worth it to lose all of that for power and titles... No, to Kagome it wasn't. She never wanted any of this.

"No cat, I don't enjoy it. Matter of fact I never asked for any of this. Like I said, my only concern is to save the innocence and take down Akuma... And no matter how many times you keep asking me the same stupid question the answer is still going to be NO!" Kagome growled out and glared at the leopard in aggravation. Yuki was actually a little impressed, the miko had a strong spirit indeed. 'I suppose she IS the one' Yuki thought as she finally stopped and fully faced Kagome.

"Very well Miko, this Yuki is impressed. You have to be the most humble human this one has ever met... and stubborn too." Kagome watched as the snow leopard glowed a bright white color before shrinking into her humanoid form. Before her stood a tall beautiful woman. Standing at about 6'0, she had long pure white hair that looked like it was sprinkled with diamond dust and was pulled back into a long braid the end only a couple inches from the ground. Her skin was a light pale blue and her eyes a light grey outlined in silver. She wore a metal breast plate outlined in fur along with a fur skirt that ended two inches above her knees. She had knee high fur boots and a light metal spaulder on her right shoulder. And to finish it off, she had a long fur cape that drug behind her when she walked and in her right hand she held a Chinese Glaive that had a gold design along the blade. She watched as Yuki stepped forward and lightly grabbed her chin to make sure she had Kagome's full attention.

"Do not make me regret this Miko." Before Kagome could respond back Yuki burst into a shimmering dust. Looking down, Kagome saw a Beautiful diamond hovering above the ground and picked it up. Grabbing her amulet, she put the diamond in it's rightful place and felt a cold chill run up her spine as Yuki placed her mark with the others. Letting out a deep breath Kagome let a big smile cross her face. She was half way there!

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 7**

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for reading. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.

-PEACH


	8. A Righteous Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter. :D

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

* * *

 **Chapter 8: A Righteous Soul**

* * *

A loud slap rung through the air and Kagome slightly shook her hand to get rid of the sting. Clutching her hand, Kagome shot a glare across the table to Astrid who gave her a small smirk, giving away her amusement.

"Again..." Kagome gave out a loud huff before collecting all 24 rune stones to put back in her small black velvet pouch.

"Clear your mind Volva... The stones can not give you a clear reading if your mind is too muddled." Kagome took a deep breath and tried to do what she was told. Once she relaxed she opened her eyes and looked down at the table. Astrid was trying to teach her a new way to read her rune stones. She called it the 'Truth of Midgard'. She originally brought in a small wooden table that had a carving of Midgard... Or as Kagome discovered, their version of what the world looked like. She took one look at it and shook her head. She explained to Astrid that the map was too inaccurate although for this time period it actually wasn't that bad. She then told her that if she brought in a new wooden table she would carve a brand new one for her. Without a second thought, Astrid summoned two thralls to get Kagome everything she needed.

Over the past two years that she has been here Astrid has taught her a lot about Viking society. There were three stations, Thralls were the lowest in station and was what she knew as slaves. Most of them were captured from villages that were raided a long time ago from when Jarl Ragnvaldr's great grandfather sat on the viking throne. Ragnvaldr had stopped the raiding once he took over but he didn't release the slaves. With them being so far North they rarely came in contact with humans which is why Kagome figured they still practice the ways of the Old Norse. She didn't think they realized how much the world around them had changed. If she remembered right the Viking Age was during 8th- 11th century. The middle class were known as Karls and they were considered the free men. Mostly farmers, fishermen, healers, traders, and blacksmiths. The highest class were called Jarls and they were the noblemen. The strongest of the Jarls was the leader, which right now was Jarl Ragnvaldr. Ragnvaldr's bloodline has been the ruling Jarl for the past nine millennia. Some say that his bloodline stems from the god Odin himself.

When the new wooden table was brought in Kagome got out her map and set it on the table before picking up a dull knife. Astrid watched curiously as Kagome summoned just enough fire to her hand to heat the knife making it burn hot before she got to work. Slowly and carefully she started to draw a replica of the world map onto the table by slightly burning the lines into the wood. It took her the better part of two hours before she was finally finished and then watched Astrid as she slowly ran her hands over the wood in wonder, she never really realized how big the world truly was.

Now here they still sat four hours later and Kagome was ready to throw up her hands and demand a break. The only thing that stopped her though was that she knew she was getting close to accomplishing her task. Taking another deep breath Kagome started to slowly rub the velvet bag between her hands as she started to focus her reiki into the stones inside. When she felt the time was right she slowly tipped the bag and let the stones fall onto the table, watching as they scattered across the table to different places on the map. She waited for all 24 stones to still before putting the velvet bag aside and lean closer to look at the stones. Out of 24 stones only 5 stones were facing upwards the rest were laying face down hiding there symbols. Focusing on the 5 stones she noticed one landed on Scandinavia, Africa, Russia, India, and Japan. She has been to all these places except for Africa, so she had a pretty good guess that Africa was her next location. The whole reason she was learning this was because the amulet had decided to go dormant and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't pull any images from it. Her guardians think that it is because she has something to finish here first before she can move forward, but 2 years have passed and as much as she loved it here she was starting to get restless.

Kagome was brought out of thought when she felt a hot breeze hit the side of her face, lightly blowing her bangs to the side. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of red and orange before she felt two claws settle on her left shoulder. Turning her head to look left, she came face to face with a bright red feathery head and two small black eyes before she let a smile cross her lips. Kagome let out a chuckle as she watched Saisei ruffle his feathers up and puff his little chest out to show her his irritation. He recently had taken to flying around in a small version of his true form due to all the female attention he has been getting. He can barely make it out of his room before being bombarded by unattached females looking for a strong handsome mate and to them he was ideal.

Looking back down Kagome tried to decide where to start and figured she might as well start at Africa and work her way back. Looking down at the rune she saw an H symbol etched into the stone. Hagalaz... It represented disruption, interference, removing unwanted influences, and breaking destructive cycles. Taking out her hand Kagome hovered it over the stone and closed her eyes to focus on it. She watched as quick flashes crossed her mind. A youkai village was burning as all the inhabitants ran around in panic. Right in the middle were two beings locked in battle. One she recognized immediately his wolf figure giving him away, Fenrir. He was battling a lion youkai. He was a lot like Fenrir in appearance, his body covered in jet black fur. He had a head of a lion but walked on two legs like a human. Kagome couldn't help but wonder if he was the next Daiyoukai that she was going to meet. She knew he was powerful considering he was holding his own against Fenrir. Kagome opened her eyes once the images faded. It showed no clues about the location of the next book unless the book was at the village but if that was the case then Fenrir might be there to get it. The sense of of urgency took over her. She needed to leave soon.

"I think my next destination is Africa. The youakai village there is in terrible trouble. Astrid I will need to leave soon." Another loud slap rung through the air and Kagome glared at Astrid for the umpteenth time. "What was that for?!"

"You are the High Priestess now... You will speak like one. If This One has to beat it into to you then This One will do so." Kagome gave out an impressive growl.

"Fine!" Kagome straightened up and leveled another glared at Astrid. "This One is going to Africa and will be leaving soon!" Astrid gave another smirk before nodding in approval.

"Well done Volva." Kagome rolled her eyes. The past two years were spent learning how to be a lady and adapting to her new role as High Priestess.

The next rune only confirmed her thoughts on leaving to her next destination. The rune over Scandinavia had the letter R etched into it. Raido meant a journey ahead, an arrival or departure, protection for travelers. Her time here was ending for the moment but Kagome knew she would be back. Jarl Ragnvaldr had discussed with her on some battle plans to fight against Akuma. With Astrid already knowing who and what she really is she decided to confide in the royal family, telling them everything about her. Kagome knew if she was to take this High Priestess role seriously then the lords can not be left in the dark, they needed to know all the information on what was happening around them. Kagome gave a small smile to herself as she thought about the good nature Dragon Lord, he made it very clear to her that he and his army would follow her to the deepest depths of Helheim if needed to put a stop to Akuma. Now she just needed to figure out how she was going to get the other Lords to join with them. Kagome looked back down at the map in deep thought, she knew that if she was going to bring all the Lords together then she was going to have to find a large unpopulated land that would support all the youkai that would be living there but she didn't know where to even begin. She knew that once she found the perfect place it would be turned into the large city she seen in her vision.

Looking over at the stone laying on Russia Kagome gave a smile. The diamond shape carved into the stone brought good news. Jera meant to bring change, for fertility and growth, fruition. Kagome hadn't stayed long in Russia because the people were in good shape once she healed everyone but a part of her did regret not staying longer to get know more about the people. She was comforted in the fact that she knew when she went back she would be welcomed. Another fond smile broke her lips as she looked down at India. The fork like shape on the stone was another good sign. Algiz is the ultimate rune of protection. It also meant great development and safe refuge. She was happy to know that Lord Durai, Lady Esha and all their people were well and healthy. She couldn't wait to see them again.

The last stone made Kagome pause... Japan, her home. Could she really consider it her home anymore? The thing that made her so sad was the fact that she felt more at home in a foreign country than she did in her own homeland. The thought had her thinking even deeper. About how far she has come since she had last been there. How long has it been now? 25 years, maybe... She couldn't really remember the exact year. Which gave her another pause, she tried to think harder and after a few minutes she realized that she was having difficulties remembering Japan. She remembered everything in the future and she remembered her journey hunting down Naraku but it still felt off... Almost like she was watching a movie of herself. She felt disconnected from her past memories. She wondered if it has something to do with her being away for so long. Maybe she started forgetting when she started to block out her bad memories of her time there. Now, all it did was bring a bad taste to her mouth...And rage. She felt a lot of hurt and rage but she made sure to keep it in check. Maybe she should talk to Nisshoku about this.

Kagome looked at the stone and took a deep breath. The symbol look almost like the letter P, Thurisaz. It meant the forces of chaos or evil, temptation, it was also a warning. Kagome sighed before taking her hand and placed it over the stone. Quick flashes crossed her mind and she watched as an image of Kikyo's face appeared, then of Inuyasha, then five grave stones. Two of them she recognized immediately as Kirara's and her little Shippo's. Tears started to prick her eyes but she held fast, she needed to be strong, she had to finish watching. She looked closer at the other three stones. One read Keade and it torn at Kagome's heart knowing she didn't get to say goodbye to the woman who was like a grandmother to her. Looking at the other two she flinched, it was Miroku's and Sango's. Their betrayal still burned and that rage she tried to suppress began to grow again, quickly she squashed it down. Now was not the time. The final image was oddly enough of Lord Sesshoumaru. Kagome's breathe hitched slightly, she forgot how handsome the Daiyoukai was. It truly was unfortunate that he was so cold. Sesshoumaru was standing on top of a hill with his sword drawn looking down. She couldn't see what he was looking at but she noticed three other youkai standing right behind him, they too were ready for battle. The symbols on their forehead told Kagome that they were Daiyoukai as well.

Kagome opened her eyes and looked outside the window. It looked to be close to noon and that meant it was time for Olyvia's oracle lessons. It also meant that Kagome was finally free of her own lessons and can take a well deserved break. Quickly she looked back over to Astrid. "May this one leave Lady Mother?" She watched as Astrid glanced out the window before gracing Kagome with a smile then nodded.

"This One shall see you at the evening feast then High Priestess." Kagome bowed her head in a gracious nod and watched as Astrid bowed in return then stood from her chair and made her way out of the room. Quickly Kagome gathered all her rune stones and put them away before getting up herself, all but running out the door. Slowing down, Kagome straightened and gracefully walked down the corridor.

The Great Nest is what they called the royal longhouse. The longhouse was like others that she had seen in books from her time but very much different. It had the same structure but instead of being one story high it was three and it was ten times bigger than a normal longhouse. The top floor held the rooms for the royal family and herself. The second floor was nothing but guest rooms. The middle of the floor outside the rooms was left opened so you could look down into the first floor and was outlined with rails to prevent anyone from falling. The first floor was the throne room. Three long tables were set up in front of the dais that held the thrones and behind the back wall at the very end of the room was the kitchen and a storage room.

Kagome carefully walked down the flight of stairs and headed outside. The longhouse was built in the second crater, a smaller one than the main volcano crater that was further up the mountain but this crater was completely filled in with large rocks and dirt making the ground more stable. There was two archways leading outside of the crater. The first lead you down the mountain side, leading into a large village that was built in front of the mountain. The second archway was at the back of the crater, that path lead down the back of the mountain and into the fjord. At the bottom was a large sea port and a shipyard where they built their longboats. That was where Kagome was heading, there was a small pebble pathway off to the side that would take you to the top of a small cliff that over look the port. She enjoyed the peace of watching the boats pass by and the sea breeze that surrounded her. When she finally reach the top, she sat down. She watched as Saisei flew from her shoulder before circling around and lit up in flames before turning into his humanoid form. Walking up to Kagome he sat down next to her.

"Did you get bored training with the warriors? Or did Yuki kick you out of the training grounds again?" Kagome asked him with a cheeky grin and Saisei huffed.

"I got tired of Misuto gushing over her sister. There is only so much I can take with her wailing about how her sister is the best and no one can bet my Onee-chan." Kagome laughed as she heard Saisei change his voice to a high pitch to match Misuto's and started to impersonate her. Yuki and Saisei had taken to training Jarl Ragnvaldr's warriors and Misuto pretty much followed her sister around everywhere she went, becoming Yuki's own personal cheerleader. It irritated Saisei to no end and often lead to him chasing Misuto down, not that he ever got a hold of her since Yuki would step in to protect her baby sister. Nisshoku was often found with Jarl Ragnvaldr and his Generals talking war strategies or out hunting with the hunters of the village.

Last year Yuki had trained her in harnessing her two abilities. The first being Aisusupia, which was creating up to three long spears of solid ice that is thrown at the enemy. The second ability was called Kyusoku Reitoko, which created a strong blizzard that froze everything before shattering, killing all those that were caught in the thick frost.

Suddenly Kagome got light headed and quickly closed her eyes. That was when the flashes first image was of a building in the desert, the building was two stories high and had a long ramp in front leading up to the second floor. In front they had pillar, some had statues of pharaohs in front of them and the top floor had no roof above it. Kagome realized it was a temple. The second was of a landscape, she could see a wild giraffe roaming around and a huge snow capped mountain in the background. The third and final image was of the burning village she saw before. The sound of a horn snapped her out of her visions. Opening her eyes, Kagome got up and brushed her dress off. Looking out into the fjord, Kagome saw a longboat heading to the dock and along side the boat was their latest catch.

"It looks like we are having whale tonight." Kagome heard Saisei say and hummed in agreement.

"Tomorrow we are leaving." Kagome told him softly before looking over at him. Saisei raised an eyebrow in question. "The amulet has given me more visions."

"And where are we heading too?" There was silence for a few minutes before Kagome responded.

"We leave for Egypt." Kagome heard Saisei ah in a knowing tone. Looking over at him, she gave him a scrutinizing look. It was her turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. He knew something and of course he wasn't going to tell her, which irritated her to no end. Kagome huffed and crossed her arms but didn't press him for answers.

* * *

The loud drunken laughter filled the throne room as everyone had gathered to celebrate the High Priestess's departure feast. The whale had filled everyone's stomach and the mead they drank put everyone in a merry but also sorrowful mood. Many had expressed their worry when word got out of her leaving to continue her quest but were happy to know she will eventually return. Many gifts and supplies have been given to aid her and the Guardians.

Kagome laughed as she listened to General Calder and General Agmundr throw insults back and forth at each other. General Thyra only rolled her eyes as the boys, as she called them, fought over who's forces were more important. General Calder was a water dragon, he had long thick blue hair and purple colored eyes. He was Jarl Ragnvaldr's sea general, he had three generals in total. One for his sea forces, one for his aerial forces, and one for his ground forces. The sea forces were all water dragons, which had no wings and had a more serpent look. General Agmundr controlled the aerial forces, which consist of flame and frost dragons since they were the only elements that could fly, other than lightning and wind of course. His long orange hair and deep red eyes gave him away as a flame dragon. General Thyra controlled the ground forces which consist of earth dragons, they too had no wings. They reminded Kagome of Ah Un, but instead of spitting out fire, they breathed out great clouds of poison. Thyra had long chestnut brown hair and apple green eyes. The only lightning dragons were of royal blood. Ragnvaldr and Byggvir were the only ones left. Wind dragons are the rarest, only seers can be born a wind dragon, no matter their parents element. Lady Mother and Olyvia were the only wind dragons at the moment.

"Volva, The Jarl would like to have a word with you." Thyra said and nodded towards the thrones where he was currently sitting. Kagome gave her a smile before standing up.

"Make sure the boys don't harm each other Thyra... I wouldn't want to have to revive someone." Kagome said with a small laugh and a wink before making her way to the dais. As she walked up to stand in front of the throne she noticed Lady Freyja, Prince Byggvir, and all her Guardians were there waiting for her as well. Kagome paused and looked at everyone with a puzzled look.

"Is everything alright?" Kagome asked as she waked up to stand by Nisshoku.

"The Jarl has a request." Kagome gave a slight nod before turning her attention to the Jarl. Looking over at him she noticed that he seemed to be in deep thought before turning his attention back to her.

"Volva, this one has a very important favor to ask of you." He waited a moment and when she nodded he continued. "Every Jarl of the past has had to embark on a journey to find his own strength. It is a requirement he must accomplish before he can ascend the throne. Normally he would take three comrades with him on this journey and they would have to prove their worth as his Generals." He paused again and waited for her nod of understanding.

"Byggvir has come of age to take his journey but because of the curse he has no one his age to take the journey with. Most of the young around his age have passed already. My general's hatch-lings are either too young or have yet to have any. He can not take his journey alone." Their was another long pause. Kagome sighed softly, she knew what he wanted. Byggvir is a bright and strong dragon, she knew he wouldn't be a hindrance on her journey but she couldn't help but worry. They were facing a god and his chosen Generals. She wasn't sure if taking him with her was a smart idea.

"You want him to go with us, am I correct?" She watched as the Jarl nodded. Kagome looked over at her Guardians.

"It's up to you Kagome." Nisshoku said softly and the others nodded in agreement. Yuki noticed the hesitant look on Kagome's face and knew what she feared.

"Kagome, we will help protect him. That is what you fear, am I right?" Kagome nodded.

"I failed at protecting my son and he died because of it. Fenrir is close to us and I couldn't bear it if I end up failing again." She whispered so soft that the others had a hard time hearing her. She knew that they did though from Lady Freyja's reaction. Her breath had hitched and the aura around her turned sad. Kagome hadn't told them about her son, or the betrayal of her so called friends and she was too scared to tell them about the demons she accidentally killed.

"Volva." The Jarl's voice broke her out of thought and she looked back up at him. "This is a journey to test his strength. If something happens to him it wouldn't be your fault. He has to prove himself worthy enough to take the throne. If this one ascends to Valhalla then he will have to take my place and he can not do that until he takes his journey." Kagome nodded and thought about it for a few more minutes.

"Please Volva, This one needs to do this." This time it was Byggvir who spoke and Kagome let out a big sigh.

"Alright." Jarl gave a pleased hum and a smile spread across Byggvir's face. "Make sure you pack light and only bring what you absolutely need." Kagome watched as the young man nodded before she added. "We leave at dawn."

* * *

Dawn had quickly approached and everyone was standing outside the Great Nest. Kagome had quickly changed into her black cloak and grabbed her satchel before heading out to meet everyone. Once outside she noticed Jarl Ragnvaldr, Lady Freyja, Olyvia and Lady Mother standing next to a beautiful black Friesian horse. Walking closer, Kagome admired the horse's long wavy onyx mane and tail, both just inches from touching the ground. His eyes were a deep red which puzzled her a bit. Focusing on her reiki, Kagome sent a small harmless tendril of her power toward the horse to analyze him. She lightly gasped when another small tendril of youkai greeted her almost playfully, the horse was demonic.

"Ah, Volva! You have finally arrived!" The Jarl's voiced boomed in joy as she continued her approach. "Come, This One has a gift for you." Kagome quickly followed him to the horse and smiled.

"Is he mine?" She asked in excitement and Ragnvaldr smiled down at her, pleased that she liked his horse so much. "Yes, he is all yours. A gift to help you on your journey, he is the best horse in my kingdom."

"It is his hope that he will bring you back swiftly." The laughing chime of Lady Freyja's voice made Kagome laugh as well. The Jarl quickly bent down to help Kagome up on the horse. She noticed that the saddle was pack with most of her supplies.

"What is his name?" Kagome asked in awe as she ran her fingers through the horse's mane.

"Sleipnir, He was named after Odin's great steed himself and has more than earned his name." The Jarl proudly announced as he too admired the horse. When Kagome looked back up she noticed Byggvir and her Guardians were approaching. Byggvir was seated on top of his own Friesian horse but this one was pure white and had bright blue eyes. She looked at the horse curiously when she noticed the horse breathing out cold puffs of air then looked down at Sleipnir. His breath came out in small puffs of smoke and it dawned on her.

"Fire and frost... These horses control an element don't they?" The Jarl laughed.

"Very observant Volva. Yes Sleipnir has control over fire and Grani has the power over ice." Kagome gave another smile before getting off Sleipnir.

Looking back over at Byggvir she noticed he was wearing a black chest plate and spaulders, both looked to be made out of a thick glass material that had a glossy sheen to it. She had seen it before in the large village, it was made of what they called Dragon Glass. Dragon glass was formed when glass was heated by a flame dragon's breath and cooled by a frost dragon over and over until the material was thick and hardened from the two elements. She learned that it was stronger than most metals but it was very light weight. A lot of their armor and weapons were made out of this. The horses also each had a chanfron that had three small horns running down their snout and peytral to protect their chest that were made out of the same material.

"Kagome." Kagome quickly turned to look behind her and saw Yuki walking up with dragon glass armor in her hands. "Yes Yuki?" Yuki motioned for her to come closer and Kagome approached. When she stood about two feet from her she watched as Yuki started to strap a form fitting breast plate around her, so she lifted her arms and observed how she was putting it together. Next came a left shoulder spaulder, then shin armor was placed over her boots.

"A woman should never leave herself unprotected especially in a time like this." Yuki told her in a mothering tone and Kagome nodded in agreement. Once she was done Kagome moved around to test the armor. She was happy it was light, it felt like she was wearing almost nothing. She was also happy that Yuki didn't get her a right spaulder, it would have made it more difficult to pull back her bow string. Turning around, Kagome gave Yuki a smile and nodded her thanks before turning back to the Jarl.

"Thank you Jarl Ragnvaldr for your hospitality. This One promises to look after your Heir and come back as quickly as we can." Kagome said and gave a short bow before straightening back up to give him a smile, which he returned.

"No thanks are needed Volva, you and your comrades are always welcomed here." Kagome's smile got bigger as she walked up closer to him. Lifting her hand, Kagome reached for the beautiful circlet that was around her head and took it off then handed it back to him.

"Would you hold onto this for me? I would hate to lose it or for it to get broken." Kagome asked and a small blush took over her cheeks. Even after all these years she can still be a klutz at times. Ragnvaldr gave a small smile and nodded. "It will be kept safe and ready for you when you return." Kagome smiled then gave him a big hug which shocked him a little bit but he quickly adjusted and hugged her in return. Once letting go, Kagome moved to give Lady Freyja, Lady Mother and Olyvia a farewell hug as well then mounted Sleipnir again. Turning around, Kagome gave them one last smile before taking her leave, her Guardians and Byggvir closely behind her.

* * *

Ten months have passed since Kagome had left the Great Nest and now more than anything she wished she was back in the cooler climate of Scandinavia. The sweltering heat of the desert was just about killing her. Even Byggvir and her Guardians were complaining, well except for Saisei of course. He found this all too amusing, which made Kagome want to bash him upside the head.

"Ok so I am all for making it rain, Who's with me?!" She groaned out loudly as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Everyone murmured their agreement, all except Saisei.

"Stop complaining, if your so hot then go swim in the river." Saisei said in a smug tone and everyone stopped to glare at him.

"What?! With the crocodiles?! I don't think so!" Kagome said with a huff. "Misuto would you be so kind as to bring out your clouds of fun? It should be safe, I haven't seen any humans for awhile now." Misuto gave a big smile and rubbed her hand together with glee. "I sure can Gome!" She glowed a light blue and with a twirl a cloud started to form above them. Ten seconds later soft water started to rain down on them. Kagome stopped and tilted her head back to let the droplets run down her face and a sigh of relief left her lips as she soaked it all in.

They had been following the Nile river for about two weeks now and she hoped they were close. The image of the temple she saw in her vision was the temple of Hatshepsut, and if Kagome remembered right, the tomb should be in The Valley of the Kings. Which ran along the Nile river and they should be close to it. Kagome noticed that dusk was quickly approaching and decided to dismount Sleipnir. Grabbing a hold of his reins, she began to walk beside him.

Once they were cooled by the rain, Misuto's clouds disappeared and they continued to walk on in silence. Which was fine for Kagome since she had a lot on her mind. She couldn't help but wonder about the next guardian. She has noticed a pattern when it came to the guardian's trials, They all seem to be based on morals. Saisei's was courage, Misuto's was patience, Nisshoku's was loyalty, and Yuki's was humility. Now she couldn't help but wonder what her next trial will be and if she will be able to pass it. There were so many different morals that it was hard to take a guess at which one would be next. Kagome was brought out of thought by a light humming noise. Looking down, the amulet started to glow slightly. They were getting close. Off in the distance Kagome could see a building and started towards that direction.

"Were getting close." She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the others. "I think it's in that building." She heard the others give out there agreement and they all started to head in that direction. The closer they got the more Kagome was in awe, the temple was huge. It wasn't long before they reached the first ramp that lead them to the temple. Once up that one they would have to go up a second ramp that was in front of the temple itself before reaching the second floor. If Kagome remembered right, Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh in the eighteenth dynasty in Egypt and she could tell that they put in a lot of hard work to create her tomb. When they finally reached the second floor they proceeded through the archway and into the courtyard that lead to the entrance of the building. Inside along the walls had beautiful hieroglyphs and Kagome couldn't help but run her hands over them in wonder. The closer she got the brighter her amulet grew. Kagome stopped and let go of Sleipnir's reins and ran her hand soothingly along his neck. "Stay here, I'll be back." She told him softly before looking at the others.

Byggvir got off of Grani before walking up beside her, following closely behind them were her guardians as they proceeded down the stairs into the tomb. Kagome lifted her hand and summoned a flame to light her way. They continued to follow the stairs down past the first chamber and eventually reached the burial chamber. The room was packed with the queen's possessions and among them were several chests. With the amulet being so close to the book now it made a chest far off to the right by the sarcophagus begin to glow in response. Kagome quickly rushed over to it and opened the lid. Gently reaching down she picked up the book and the others quickly surrounded her. Blowing the dust off the book, she read the title out loud. "Hikari No Sho."

"The Book of Light." Nisshoku translated since they had a companion they didn't understand Japanese. Kagome opened the book and began to chant, summoning the familiar portal. Setting the book aside, she turned to her companions. "I'll be back." She watched as they nodded and wished her luck. They watched as she entered the portal and disappeared. Nisshoku quickly put a hand on Byggvir's shoulder to stop his advance. "This is something she has to do on her own hatch-ling, she'll be back." Byggvir nodded and looked back at the portal, his curiosity etched all over his face.

* * *

Wind and sand whipped all around Kagome as she entered the portal. Just great, right where she wanted to be again, the desert. All around her were desert dunes and the sky above her was clear and a bright blue in color. Kagome sighed as she continued to walk forward, she figured that the direction she went didn't matter since the guardian always seem to find her anyways. She was sure that the guardian already knew she was here and it would only be a matter of time before he or she showed up. Kagome continued to trudge up and down the dunes, muttering soft curses on the occasions she would fall before picking herself back up. She stopped to catch her breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead before crawling up the next dune, the whole while complaining about the locations these guardians tend to pick and why they couldn't just pick some location that was easier for her to handle.

When she finally reached the top of the dune, she thanked the gods when she saw flat sand at the bottom of it. Off in the distance she could make out a structure and figured that was where she was heading. Getting back up on her feet, Kagome took a step forward to start walking down the dune but of course she had lost her footing when her left foot slightly sunk into the sand, causing her to tumble down the rest of the dune. Lying on her back Kagome groaned and opened her eyes to look up at the sky. It was the first time she noticed that the sky had darkened with black clouds and slowly she sat up, rubbing her head in pain and in wonder.

The wind began to pick up and a loud thundering could be heard. Standing up and brushing herself off, Kagome looked forward and noticed the structure she had seen off in the distance was now 30 feet from her. It was a simple shabby hut made of sandstone and had a sheer white cloth hanging in the door way that was blowing in the wind. She began to step forward when a loud thundering was heard again and a bolt of lightning crossed the sky. Looking up at the sky once more Kagome noticed a creature weaving in and out of the dark clouds. She couldn't really make out what the creature was because she was only seeing small glimpses of it. Slowly she turned herself around, following the huge beast's movements. Whatever it was it was huge and golden in color. Kagome jumped when another loud thundering sound was made and a lightning bolt struct the ground five feet from her on her left side, completely taking her focus off the flying creature.

A loud screech filled her ears making Kagome's head snapped back up. She watched as the creature finally decided to show itself and gasped in awe. A large golden dragon flew towards her, the dragon looked almost identical to Ragnvaldr's true form but was about ten times bigger and instead of having only two horns it had four. One on each side of it's head and two smaller ones on it's snout. The dragon landed about 100 feet away from Kagome and stared at her silently for a few minutes. It was analyzing her, it's eyes felt like it could see right through her and down to her very soul which made Kagome extremely nervous. The dragon huffed before letting out another loud screech, forcing Kagome to cover her ears. She watched as a lightning bolt struct the dragon and the light forced Kagome to cover her eyes. When she was finally able to see again she noticed a woman standing in front of her, looking down at her with an eye brow raised in questioning.

The woman stood at about 6'10 and looked no more 28 years old. She had golden color hair that was cut two inches from her shoulders in a feminine bob hair cut. Her eyes were a deep magenta color and she wore a short sheer white Egyptian kalasiris and on top of her head was a dragon head dress made of gold. Her feet were bare but she had several golden anklets that clinked together when she walked. Each of her wrists had the same bracelets and a gold dragon armband wrapped around each arm. She also took note of the dragoness's weapon of choice, she had a sai in each hand. Kagome was snapped out of thought when she finally spoke.

"Hmmm... I'm not sure you are ready." Kagome gave her a puzzling look.

"Ready for what?" She nervously asked and watched a smirk cover the woman's pink lips.

"Your destiny." Kagome frowned.

"What do you mean? Besides I don't think I really have a choice. Akuma isn't going to wait for me to be ready." Kagome said in a huff and crossed her arms defiantly. The dragoness laughed and began to walk slowly around Kagome. When she was facing Kagome again she noticed the amulet around her neck and picked it up. After a few seconds she hummed then let go of the amulet. "Interesting..."

"What is?" Kagome was beginning to get irritated and soon started to slowly follow the dragoness as they walked in a big circle, Kagome making sure to always face the woman.

"That you have gotten this far." Kagome gritted her teeth and glare at her.

"I hear you have made quite a name for yourself and you are trying to rally up an army. Are you sure you can handle it little Miko?" Kagome paused and watched as the woman gave her a taunting smile.

"Yes... I'm sure." Kagome glared back at her. She would not let this dragon make her doubt herself.

"You know... Ruling over a kingdom is a taxing job. Not everyone is strong enough to do it. There are certain prices you have to pay, certain things that must be done wither you want to or not. Are you sure your sweet little heart can handle it Miko?" Kagome gave her a puzzling look and watched as the dragon stopped in front of her. Before Kagome could answer the woman brushed past her, heading towards the small hut.

"Come." Kagome turned around and watched as the dragoness walked into the hut before slowly starting to follow her.

Brushing the white cloth aside, she walked through the door and gasped in awe. Inside was a large throne room. Decorated in Egyptian statues and had pillars lined along the wall. All the walls had hieroglyphs on them and right in the middle sat the dragoness on her golden throne. Kagome continued to walk forward and stopped about 20 feet from where she sat.

"Choose!" Kagome slightly jumped, her voice breaking her from her admiration of the golden room.

"Choose what?" She watched as the dragon waved her hand to point at something behind her. Slowly Kagome turned back around and noticed three people were lined up behind her. They were on their knee with their hands tied behind their back and had a burly sack over their heads. Kagome looked back over at the dragon and gave her a puzzling look.

"All three are guilty of crimes and need to be punished. Only one has to die though or all three if you wish. I'll let you decide." Kagome gasped and gave her a horrified look.

"What do you mean? I have to kill one!?" The dragon looked up from inspecting her delicate claw and glared over at Kagome.

"This is one of the prices one must pay when ruling a kingdom! What? Did you think ruling over subjects is an easy task Miko?! You will be forced to make decisions that you don't want to make but YOU WILL for the safety of your people! Now CHOOSE!" Kagome took a deep breath before turning back around to look at the three kneeling figures. Slowly she walked up to the first one to her left.

"State your crimes." She softly asked the man before her, from his clothing she could tell he was a noble. She listened as he told her of how he was captured due to being caught conspiring against his lord and their plans for his death. Kagome waited patiently for him to finish before asking him if he succeeded and he told her no. Kagome gave a small sigh then moved on to the next one, this one being a middle age woman.

"State your crimes." The woman gruffly told her that she killed her husband by slowly poisoning him. When Kagome asked her why she killed him the woman said she got tired of her drunk husband beating her and gambling all their money away, so she killed him. Kagome asked why she didn't notify the guards about his behavior she laughed and said that she wanted revenge for all the years of abuse and that it was her right to get some over due justice. That was when it clicked for Kagome... Justice. That was her trial. Kagome said no more to the woman and moved on to her last criminal, this one was a young boy no older than ten.

"State your crimes." The young boy sniffed before telling Kagome he got caught stealing food for himself and his sister. Kagome asked if his parents were too poor to feed them and he said no and told her that they were dead. Kagome gave a long pause as she thought about the three people kneeling before her.

"Tick tock Miko... Your time is running out." Kagome gritted her teeth and glared over at the dragon. "One must die and the other two need a punishment." The dragon softly said as she watch Kagome.

Kagome's eyes hardened as she summoned her sword and took a shaky breath. Slowly she walked behind the woman in the middle and pulled her head back before cutting her throat. Kagome let go and numbly watched as the now lifeless body fell forward, her blood slowly covering the floor. The dragon noticed the Miko's eyes dull and sighed.

"Why did you choose her? Why not the man next to her?" Kagome was silent for a few moments before answering.

"What happened to her was wrong but it wasn't her place to kill him. She should have gotten help. Killing him was just as wrong as what he did to her. As for the man... He never succeeded in killing his lord." Kagome's dull voice made the woman in front of her pause in thought.

"It's hard to pass judgement but it is something that must be done as a ruler. Just remember Miko, you do this for the safety of your people. What are your punishments for the other two?" Kagome slowly tried to snap herself out of her daze.

"The man gets a life sentence in the dungeons and the child..." Kagome slowly looked down at the whimpering boy and her eyes softened. "He will work off what he owes, then he will be free." The dragoness hummed in agreement and stood up.

"Very well Miko." Kagome barely noticed as everything in the room and the bodies in front of her slowly started to turn to ash, the wind sweeping it all away until there was nothing left but the dragon, herself, and the flat desert sand they now stood upon.

"You have done well little Miko. You show that you judge fairly and are capable of serving justice. Take this Hikari's stone and add it to your amulet." With that said, Kagome watched as a lightning bolt strike Hikari and she disappeared with it. Hovering above the place where she once stood was a beautiful yellow topaz. Picking it up Kagome placed it in the amulet and felt a electrifying jolt across her back as Hikari placed her symbol. Looking up, Kagome noticed a portal had opened and made her way to it.

* * *

Everyone watched with baited breath as Kagome walked back through the portal. The others knew something was wrong when she just silently stared back at them, her body stiff. The amulet glowed a golden color and they watched as Hikari joined them. Nothing was said though, everyone too afraid to break the tension that filled the tomb. They all watched as Kagome lifted her hand and summoned her flame again before turning to head out of the tomb. "We are leaving." Her soft whisper took them all by surprise as the watched her exist the room. The guardians all looked to Hikari, wondering what had happened and she sighed.

"The Miko has much to think about. My trial has revealed something that she didn't like but something she now knows she will have to face." The others grimly nodded in acceptance, they all remembered what Hikari's trial was and finally understood what was going on. Slowly one by one they all followed Kagome out of the tomb, all making sure to give her some space.

Two weeks have passed since Hikari had joined the group and slowly Kagome started to return to normal but there was a more reserved side to her now. Which saddened all her guardians and Byggvir but they knew there was nothing they could do about it. They also had discovered from Hikari that Ragnvaldr's bloodline stemmed from Hikari's father as well but their blood was more diluted so they weren't as powerful as Hikari herself. Byggvir had found this information fascinating and has been glued to Hikari's side ever since. The mark that rested upon Byggvir's brow was the same mark on Kagome's back, the Tiwaz symbol. The symbol looked like an arrow pointing upwards. Hikari had also started to teach Kagome her three abilities. The Kamigami No Ikari was a series of lightning bolts coming down from the sky to strike her enemies. Next was Denki Boruto, which was creating a single lightning bolt from her hand and last but not least was Jikko. This one was a single lightning bolt striking the ground and causing waves of electricity to cover the area around her, zapping anyone that was too close.

Kagome had told them that she was getting a strong pull from the south and figured that was where the next village was located at. The further they got the more they started to noticed everything around them had started to decay. All the plant life was wilted and there was barely any animal life left, absolutely everything was barren which started to worry Kagome. It was about a month into there journey when Kagome came across the smell of burning fire. Rising smoke could be seen off in the distance and she urged Sleipnir to move faster. As the group got closer they saw the dead grass of the Savannah was up in flames and so were the huts of a large village.

"Misuto! We need rain! Make it rain hard enough to put out the fires, drench everything." Kagome yelled over all the panic going on around her, Misuto quickly nodded and got to work. There was chaos everywhere. The youkai of the village were running all over the place and Kagome let out a gasp of surprised. They were being attacked! The creatures skin were pure black in color and their eyes a deep murderous red. Fangs hung past their jaw and when they opened their mouth you could see they had long snake like tongues. They walked on two legs and all were over 6'0 tall. Their clawed fingers reached about a foot long and some of them even had wings. These were the youkai that the curse devoured, this is what they turned into! Tears pricked Kagome's eyes as she looked around at all those who were lost. Their were hundreds of them attacking the villagers.

Quickly snapping out of her stupor, Kagome summoned a sword in each hand and entered the fray. Her swords hummed to life as her reiki surged through them. She sliced through any creature she could reach, instantly turning them to ash. Soon her guardians and Byggvir joined to help her. She had to find Fenrir! That was her first goal.

"Kill every damned creature and get the rest of the youkai to safety! I must find the wolf!" Kagome yelled back at her group before taking off towards the center of the village. She didn't wait for a reply as she ran down the paths in between the burning huts. She sliced and stabbed through any creature that got in her way.

It took her about ten minutes before she finally found the lion and the wolf. Fenrir stood above the injured Daiyoukai and laughed wickedly before howling in triumph. She saw the lion slowly trying to inch his way back, his right arm was tore to shreds and there was three deep gashes across his chest. Quickly Kagome raced forward and lunged at the wolf before he could make his fatal blow to the lion. Using her right shoulder, Kagome jabbed it into his side knocking them both off balance. She quickly turned to get back on her feet and watched Fenrir do the same. He growled deeply at her but then stopped to laugh.

"So the Champion finally arrives! I've been dying to meet you Miko!" Kagome glared at the wolf before getting into a fighting stance.

"You just might get your wish wolf! Dying is in your foreseeable future... and I'm more than willing to make that happen!" Fenrir gave out a deep growl before taking a swipe at her. Kagome quickly dodged his claw and sliced him on his right side. She listened as he howled in pain and smirked at him.

"Your going to have to do better than that wolf!" Fenrir glared at her before flexing his claws.

"Even if you do succeed in killing me you won't win the war. The stronger you grow the stronger she grows." Kagome gave him a puzzling look and he smirked.

"She? Akuma's champion is a Miko?" Fenrir laughed as he straighten himself up. They both started to circle around each other, both ready for the others next move.

"Ah, it's almost over. It wont be long now until we have all the youkai souls here." Fenrir grinned and Kagome huffed.

"I won't let you take them! My guardians are killing off your horde as we speak! It's over Fenrir!" Kagome growled out and grit her teeth as that only made him laugh more.

"Are you sure about that Miko? Look around you! Does my horde look diminished to you?!" Fenrir laughed as he spread his arms out to prove his point. Kagome paused and looked behind him. There were more! But how was that possible? When she first got here the group of enemies were small. Looking around wide eyed, Kagome noticed there had to be a thousand of them now but where were they coming from?!

"Your guardians do not have reiki Miko. So for every one creature they kill, two more takes it's place." Kagome looked back at Fenrir in horror. They were causing the horde to grow. She had to warn them.

Fenrir started to laugh even more, the look of despair on the Miko's face was far to delightful in his opinion. "How can they kill those that are already dead, Miko?! They only go right back down to hell before being able to be summoned again." Kagome frowned but something he said caught her interest. He said that her guardians don't have reiki... Does that mean if she kills them then they wont come back?! She will have to test this theory. First she will have to silence the wolf! Kagome gave a small smile and Fenrir raised an eyebrow.

"But my reiki frees them doesn't it?" She asked with a smirk as his eyes got big as he realized his mistake. Having had enough of the wolf, Kagome decided to end it. The sword in her left hand disappeared as Kagome summoned her Denki Boruto attack. Lightning shot from her palm, hitting Fenrir in the chest. The force of it pushed him back but didn't knock him down. Quickly Kagome summoned her flame portal. The fire developing her small figure before teleporting her behind Fenrir and without another thought, Kagome ran her sword through his back before it came out of his chest. Her reiki slowly eating him alive. His painful screams rung through the air before he completely turned to ash.

She watched for a moment as his ashes blew away with the wind when a loud screeching caught her attention. Looking up, Kagome saw Byggvir flying over her in his true form. His bronze colored scales were streaked red with his blood. He ungracefully landed about a 100 feet away from her. She watched as a large horde quickly surrounded him and he tried his best to fend them off, using his tail to swipe at them. Electricity hummed in the air as he started to build up his lightning bolt attack and once he released it hundreds of the creatures disintegrated briefly before more started to rise from the ground. Kagome quickly snapped out of it and ran towards him, cutting down any that was in her way. He was getting overwhelmed again but she was almost there. Her whole figure glowed a light pink as her reiki pumped through her, the creatures turned to ash just by touching her because the current was so strong but that didn't stop them from chasing her down. They were mindless creature. Just as she was about to break through the horde to reach Byggvir's side she was pushed by the force of the horde behind her. Kagome barreled into Byggvir, her body still glowing with purification. It was at that exact moment when he released another blast but this time her reiki entwined with his youkai. Bright pink lightning shot from his maws and this time the horde stayed dead.

Quickly Kagome got to her feet and began to finish off the rest of the enemies. She took noticed that Byggvir was having difficulties breathing and slowly he started to change back into his humanoid form.

"BYGGVIR!" She screamed when she noticed he wasn't moving. Quickly she finished the last one off and raced to his side. Kagome gently rolled him over and checked his breathing. It was shallow but still there. She summoned her healing powers and placed her hands on his chest. Tears came to her eyes as she waited but she gave out a quick sigh of relief when his breathing started to even out. Removing her hands from his chest, she moved her right hand to gently run it over his forehead in hopes of waking him... But his eyes never opened. Instead it drew her attention to a new mark added to his royal birth right. Kagome leaned closer to get a better look and gasped. There on his forehead was a shard of the Shikon Jewel etched beneath his Tiwaz symbol. The pink mark pulsed once and Kagome began to feel his heart beating in time with her own. Kagome stared down at him in awe and fear... What has she done!

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 8**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter.

-Peach


	9. A Selfless Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews, your support is greatly appreciated!

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Byggvir (Pronunciation: Big-veer)- Prince of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Jarl Ragnvaldr (Pronunciation: Rag-val-dur)- Lord of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Lady Freyja (Pronunciation: Fray-yah) Lady of Scandinavia, Ragnvaldr's mate (Fire dragon)

*Princess Olyvia (Pronunciation: Oh-liv-vee-ah) Princess of Scandinavia (wind dragon)

*Lady Astrid (Pronunciation: Ass-trid) The Nest's oracle, Ragnvaldr's mother (Wind dragon)

*Sleipnir (Pronunciation: Slayp-near) - Kagome's Demonic Steed (Fire Horse)

-A/N: Both Sleipnir and Grani are NOT the mythical Norse horses, just named after them.

*Grani (Pronunciation: Grah-nee)- Byggvir's Demonic Steed (Ice Horse)

*Fenrir (Pronunciation: Fen-rear)- The dark wolf General of Akuma. He was One of Four dark Generals. (He is Not the wolf god in Norse mythology, just named after him.) (wolf youkai)

*Yami- The shadow General of Akuma. One of four dark Generals. He is the Dreamwalker that controls people through their nightmares. (A/N: The four Generals of Akuma are Eva, Fenrir, Yami, and Ashanti. Kagome has defeated Eva (in Ch. 6) and Fenrir (in Ch. 8). That leaves 2 more Generals.) (Shadow Youkai)

*Ashanti- The Shape shifter General of Akuma. One of Four dark Generals. She is the High General of Akuma's Army and is helping the Dark Champion. (Cobra Youkai)

*Akuma- The dark God. He is based off the god known as Yama or sometimes Enma depending on the culture, he is the god that judges the dead.

* * *

 _Recap of Chapter 8: Kagome leaves Scandinavia with her guardians and Byggvir. The group heads to Africa in search of the next Guardian. The group finds themselves in Egypt, which is where the next book is located at. She meets Hikari and is put through a trial of Justice. Once she passes and gains the Guardian of Light's stone, the group heads South winding up in Kenya. Upon their arrival, they see the next village being attacked and everything is up in flames. Kagome rushes forward to find the next Daiyoukai who is fighting Fenrir, the dark wolf general. Kagome fights Fenrir and discovers that the dark Champion is a Miko and also discovers how to beat the dark creatures that are attacking the village. Once Fenrir is beaten, Kagome helps an injured Byggvir and accidentally does something to him, putting him in a feverish coma. Now worried, Kagome tries to figure out what she did and why he has a marking of the Shikon Jewel Shard on his forehead..._

* * *

 **Chapter 9: A Selfless Soul**

* * *

A week had passed since the village was attacked by Fenrir. His army had done a number on the youkai village. The village use to be around 20,000 but now was at 18,000. Kagome had saved who ever she could but unfortunately there were some that couldn't be saved. The damned, or as Nisshoku called them, the Jinzu had ripped and shredded many youkai apart and there was nothing she could do for those that were killed in that fashion. After she healed all the injured, she began to heal everyone of the curse. It took her awhile but that was ok with her, it kept her mind off Byggvir... He still hadn't woken up yet. Thankfully his fever had finally broke three days ago but no one could figure out what was going on. She knew he was ok because she could feel a small connection pulsing from his Shikon mark.

She had asked her Guardians about it and none of them were really sure what was going on either. Yuki was the only one that had a possible guess as to what it was, she thinks that Kagome had somehow blessed him. She had seen something similar before but it was a different mark. She went on further to explain that a powerful Miko or Monk could bless a youkai with their power, creating a connection between them allowing the youkai to draw reiki from the blesser, using their holy power as their own. That was all that Yuki knew of the subject other than that it was rarely done. Most have forgotten about this ability long ago when the youkai and holy men had turned on each other.

So here she sat beside Byggvir, checking on his condition while she took her break. Herself, along with her Guardians and the village men have been working on rebuilding all the huts that were destroyed by the fire. Lord Omari and his mate Lady Amai were kind enough to share their hut with them as they waited for Byggvir to wake up.

Lord Omari was the lion Daiyoukai that was fighting Fenrir when Kagome arrived. He was large in size, standing close to 6'10. He stood like a man but he had features of a lion. He was covered in jet black fur and had the head of a lion, his eyes were a striking silver in color. Lady Amai, his mate, was beautiful in every way. Her skin was a light bronze in color and her soft brown hair was put up in an intricate bun on top of her head. Her eyes were a rich golden in color. She always had a kind smile on her face where as her mate was stern and quite. Unlike her mate she wasn't covered in fur though, she took on a more human look. After asking, Kagome found out that she too was a lion youkai. The couple made a powerful pair.

Kagome's thoughts kept straying to Byggvir's mark. She wondered if Midoriko would know what it was. The more she thought about it the more it became clearer as to what she needed to do. Maybe Midoriko would know how to help him. With a deep breathe, Kagome sat up and folded her legs into a lotus position. Closing her eyes she began to meditate, pulling herself deep inside to her center. After a couple of minutes, things around her started to still. All noise stopped and it was like time had frozen. Slowly she let out her breath and started to open her eyes, everything was blurry at first but soon her surroundings came into focus. The first thing she saw was Midoriko's smiling face. Kagome gave a small smile back in return, she had missed Midoriko. Her smile always had a way to bring comfort to Kagome. Looking around some more, she noticed they sat across from each other in the old library.

"It is good to see you again Kagome. You're doing well on your travels I hope?" Midoriko asked as she reached out and gently touched Kagome's face. Kagome smiled again and nodded.

"I've come to ask you about something, I hope you will be able to help." Kagome watched as Midoriko nodded. "Of course, ask me your question and I will help in any way I can."

"A dear friend of mine has been put into a deep sleep for the past seven days. It happened after I accidentally touched him with my powers. Now he has a marking of a Shikon Jewel shard on his forehead and we seem to be connected somehow. Do you have any information about this? About what I did?" Kagome watched as Midoriko's eyes widened and her breathe caught. Kagome started to twist her hands together as she waited for Midoriko to say something, her silence was about killing her.

"Is this friend of yours a youkai?" Kagome nodded and Midoriko hummed in understanding.

"You have blessed him child." Kagome stopped her fretting for a moment and tilted her head to the side. "Yuki had said something about that but what does that mean exactly? How did I do it?" Midoriko gave out a light chuckle before she continued to explain.

"It is a gift that has been given to those of great holy power but it has been lost through time. Youkai and holy men hadn't always been enemies. We were all at peace once upon a time." Kagome nodded and leaned forward slightly as she continued to listen.

"A powerful Monk or Miko will be given a sigil upon their forehead as a sign of their true power. Like you have on yours, the Shikon Jewel is your sigil. It shows that you are the Shikon Miko. You said that your friend has a Shikon shard on his forehead, correct?" Midoriko watched as Kagome nodded before she went further.

"That shows everyone else that he is loyal to you and because of his loyalty you have blessed him with your power. The marking of the shard is a connection between the two of you, it shows that he has a piece of you in him. It will glow when he draws on your reiki, kind of like the guardian's symbols glow when you draw on theirs. It is similar to a youkai mating mark but at the same time it's not. It connects you two together by you giving the youkai a small piece of your soul but the youkai gives you nothing back. There for the connection is only one way, not both ways like a mating mark. The only way it can be broken is if you or the youkai dies, so it's a connection for life." Kagome nodded, that made sense but..."How did I bless him?"

"What were you two doing when this happened?" Kagome thought about the question for a brief moment before answering.

"I was racing towards him, he was surrounded by the Jinzu. I had summoned a great deal of reiki to get through the horde quicker. When I finally reached him I was pushed and slammed into him as he was getting ready to unleash his lightning attack. My reiki intertwined with his lightning and killed most of the Jinzu around us. After that he started to have difficulties with breathing and transformed back into his humanoid form. I raced to him and healed him but he wouldn't wake up. That was when I noticed the Shikon shard marking on his forehead." Kagome finished and gave Midoriko a worried look.

"You feared for him, your reiki recognized that. When you touched him you thought only of his safety and you wanted to protect him. I believe you did it out of instinct. But I need to warn you Kagome, blessing comes with a heavy price. If the youkai you bless draw too much of your reiki then it can weaken you greatly, luckily you have such an enormous soul. The youkai that have your blessing have to be careful as well. If they summon too much it can overwhelm them and accidentally purify them. Only bless those that have absolute loyalty to you because if that loyalty ever wavers, even in the slightest then your reiki will automatically destroy the threat." Kagome nodded as she thought about Midoriko's words.

"Youkai... You mean I can bless more than one?" Kagome asked in wonder and Midoriko smiled.

"Yes, you have a very large soul but like I said be careful on who you bless. Only the strongest can handle your reiki, It will automatically overwhelm and kill weaker youkai." Kagome nodded in agreement as a plan started to formulate in her head.

"Why did he have a fever?" Midoriko thought for a second before answering. "His youki is trying to adjust to the reiki that now resides in him. Once the fever breaks it will not be long before he wakes." Kagome nodded with relief, his fever broke days ago so it shouldn't be long.

"Thank you Midoriko, your information has been most helpful." Kagome said in gratitude as she bowed in thanks.

"Of course child, I will always be here to help but you might want to get back. The others have arrived and are starting to worry." Kagome quickly nodded in agreement because she could feel them close to her barrier as well.

"Goodbye Midoriko." Kagome watched as Midoriko smiled and waved farewell before she started to pull herself out of meditation.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and watched as her barrier that surrounded her dropped. Looking around, she noticed her Guardians and Lord Omari had crowded around her.

"Is everything alright Kagome?" Kagome looked up to see worry etched on Saisei's face and she nodded.

"Everything is fine. I was talking to Midoriko, she told me about the marking. It is like Yuki said, I blessed him." They nodded in understanding but Lord Omari was confused.

"What do you mean Witch Doctor? This Omari is confused, what does it mean to be blessed?" Kagome looked over at the lion lord and gave him a calming smile. After the tribe had witnessed her bring the dead back to life and curing the rest of the curse they started calling her a witch doctor, the thought made her giggle a little bit.

"It means we are connected spiritually and now he can summon my reiki at his own will and use it as his own." Kagome watched as the lion lord thought about what she had said. "Your powers are the only way to stop these dark creatures, yes?" Kagome nodded grimly. She worried about the people here, she worried that they might come back to finish the job.

"Lord Omari, This One would like to request an audience with you. This One would like to form an alliance with you and your people." She watched as the lord tilted his head to the side as he thought about what she had said, then nodded for her to continue. Kagome got up when she saw him motion for her to follow him. They walked together out of the hut and continued to follow the path through the village.

"What would you like to speak about Witch Doctor?" Lord Omari's voice brought her attention back to the lion. "Please Lord Omari, call me Kagome." She watched as the lion lord nodded his head before she continued.

"My friends and I have been traveling all over the world, chasing down this darkness. We have helped everyone we have come across and cured them. We have also noticed that this darkness is only targeting youkai. So I have spent the last 27 years helping and planning with other Lords on ways to fight this evil." Well she only really had one Lord on her side so far but Kagome was positive the other two lords would join her. She wasn't going to tell Lord Omari that though, it was important that he was on her side and it would be easier if he knew others had joined the fight as well.

"27 years? You look no more than 20... How is that possible?" Lord Omari asked as he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow and Kagome laughed. "Well lets just say I haven't been human in a long time." She could tell he was extremely curious but was thankful that he didn't push for answers.

"So you want This Omari to join this war against the darkness... Tell This One, who exactly is leading this fight? Who is the enemy? As Far as This One can tell you are the only one that can kill those creatures. If This One joins will my people be fighting against an enemy they can not kill and be slaughtered in return?" Kagome sighed, she understood the lord's concerned but now she had to decide how much to tell him. None of the lords knew the true nature of her Guardians other than Jarl Ragnvaldr. She had decided to wait until after they all got together and the city was built before having that discussion with the others.

"The enemy is known by the name Akuma, He is a dark god that is trying to build his army and take over the world. " Before she could continue Lord Omari interrupted. "You want This One to join in a war against a god?" Kagome stopped and looked over at the lion lord. She noticed how his figure tensed up and could feel his unease rolling off him in waves.

"Yes... I do. I am the one leading the fight. I have been chosen by the other gods to fight against this evil but I can not do it alone. That is why I am reaching out to the other Lords. I am the High Priestess that is suppose to bring this world together to fight against this dark god and his army." Kagome paused and turned to look Lord Omari in the eyes, making sure she had his full attention and so that he knew she was completely serious.

"They will come back for you and your people Lord Omari, he will not stop until he has every youkai soul in his clutches...But I have a plan to stop this and I will need your help along with all the other lords of this world to put a stop to him." She watched as Lord Omari went into deep thought, thinking about everything she had said. A few minutes had passed before the lion lord looked back at Kagome and nodded. "What is your plan?" Kagome gave him a small smile before they turned and began to walk again.

"I plan to build a safe haven for the youkai that Akuma hasn't taken yet. Once I build it I will send word to all the Lords and give you the location. Then together we will combine our forces, creating an army of our own. Akuma's army is vast, he has control over all the souls in the underworld and to fight against this army alone, I am not sure I could win. But, now that I have discovered my new gift, I believe I have a way to better the odds. I would like to bless all the lords with a little bit of my reiki. By doing this, all of you will have a fighting chance against Akuma and his army. We will of course come up with better and more detailed strategies when everyone is together." She watched as Lord Omari nodded in agreement before asking his next question.

"How Long will it take This One to recover from your blessing? Will it be seven days like the young dragon?" Kagome paused and thought about it. "I am not 100 percent sure, Byggvir is still growing into his power. I do not think it will take you or your mate that long to recover since your power is already at it's peak."

"My mate? You want to bless her too?" Kagome could hear the surprise in his voice but nodded.

"Yes, my group and I will be leaving to continue our journey after the two of you awaken from the blessing process. There are still other Lords that I must talk to about this up coming war. It would be best if both of you were blessed, between the two of you, you should be able to protect your people until it is time to move to the safe haven." Silence took over as both of them were lost in thought.

"This One had planned to move his people to a better location some time soon. As you can tell, the game here has long left the area and my people are starving. Will you be able to find us again High Priestess?" Kagome looked around briefly and had to agree with the lord. Everything around them was dead. All the grass had turned brown, the trees were bare, the water was almost gone, there was no signs of wild life anywhere. A small smile crossed her lips though and the lion lord looked at her in confusion. "I believe I can help with that." Lord Omari raised an eyebrow as he watched Kagome.

By this time they had reached the middle of the huge village and all of them stopped as they watched Kagome. She picked up a long skinny stick before making her way to the center of the large open area. Putting the end of the stick in the dirt, Kagome started to draw a huge magic diagram. It took her a couple of minutes before she finished it and when she did she walked to it's center. Looking up towards the sky and holding her arms out horizontally with her palms facing up, Kagome began to glow a light blue as she summoned the rain to help her in doing what she needed to do next. After a light drizzle had started, her hands started to glow a bright green before the diagram she stood on began to do the same. After a good 30 seconds had passed, everyone around her watched as she began to heal the earth beneath her feet. The once dead grass slowly turned a bright and vibrant green, the trees began to sprout leaves and the water holes slowly filled with water as it collected the rain. She let the magic flow through her until the diagram was slowly washed away. Letting out a content smile, Kagome turned around and looked over at Lord Omari.

"I do this as a sign of good faith Lord Omari. To show you and your people that from here on out This One will do everything in her power to see you and your people protected and in good health. We will get through all of this together. It wont take long for the game to come back to this area and when they do your people will not have to worry about starvation any longer." Lord Omari looked at Kagome in awe and appreciation, Lady Amai was seen quickly heading to her mate's side with the look of wonder on her face as she looked around at the newly healed land.

"You have This Omari's thanks and allegiance High Priestess. May we win this war together." Kagome watched as the lion lord bowed and soon after so did all his people.

That night Kagome had explained to Lord Omari and his mate about the Blessing process. She let them know that it was a life bond and how they needed to take extreme caution on how much reiki they pull from her, the last thing she wanted was to accidentally purify them. She made she that they knew that this wasn't something they had to do but she also pointed out that they would be defenseless against the Jinzu if they didn't. It didn't take them long to decide. Kagome placed a palm on their heads before closing her eyes to concentrate. Slowly she summoned her reiki to her palms and began the process. Their youki began to fight back and she quickly told them not to fight it, she wasn't going to harm them. After they calmed down, she began again, this time her reiki started to mix with their youki. It only took a few minutes before they both fell unconscious, Yuki and Saisei quickly grabbed them so they wouldn't fall to the floor. Now all they could do is wait.

The next morning Byggvir finally woke up and Kagome was excited. She calmly explained to him what happened and both were excited to try and figure out how this connection worked. For three days they practiced, Kagome showing him how to summon her reiki and had him mix it with his own lightning. She also made sure to show him how to make barriers with it as well. Then it made her curious to see if her Guardians could do it too but unfortunately they couldn't. Their connection was only one way and that was her drawing power from them. Kagome didn't understand why they wouldn't be able to kill the Jinzu and Nisshoku explained that they were here to help the Champions fight against the other Champion's Guardians... To even the odds so to speak, not to fight the damned. He told her that it didn't mean that they still couldn't help though, if her army ever got overwhelmed then they could step in and push the Jinzu back until her army could recuperate. He also pointed out that only a god could kill them so they wouldn't be in any kind of harm, which made Kagome feel a lot better.

On the third day is also when she got her visions from the amulet. The first one was of a dark shadowy figure with long black claws, he had no eyes but had a sickening grin across his face, showing off his sharp pointy teeth. Kagome shuddered, she would never forget this creature. She recognized him instantly because she had seen him once before in her visions... Yami, the dark Dreamwalker that Nisshoku had warned her about. He was the one that started the curse that had taken so many youkai souls. The next vision was of a different youkai, she had seen him once before too. He had shoulder length green hair and bright purple eyes. His skin was covered in tiny dark green scales, making him a reptile of some sort. The sigil on his forehead only confirmed who he was, the next Daiyoukai she had to meet. Kagome gasped out loud as she watched him take a sharp dagger and slit his own throat before he collapsed to the ground among the other dead bodies. The final vision was of a place this time, a place that Kagome was thankful that she recognized. It's stone structures that was built into and on the mountain top was famous in her time. Their next destination was in Peru... They were heading to Machu Picchu, the lost Incan empire.

* * *

Tears came to Kagome's eyes as she looked around at all the dead bodies that surrounded her. Five weeks have past since her group had left Africa and began their journey to South America. She had decided that it would be best if her Guardians went back into the amulet as Byggvir and herself flew across the Atlantic Ocean in their dragon forms. They had just found the lost Incan empire not to long ago and she was exhausted. That was the longest she had ever been in her transformed state and it had drained her reiki greatly.

Kagome felt her amulet glow brightly as one by one her Guardians left the amulet and appeared by her side. All seven of them looked around in horror at what laid before them. The city was in ruins. Thousands of dead bodies were laid everywhere and as far as Kagome could see. Slowly she began to walk around the bodies, making her way towards the steps that lead higher up the mountain. Her body had gone numb as she looked down at every body she walked past. All their throats were slit and each one had a dagger in their hands, even the children.

"Why would they do this?" She whispered to no one in particular as tears coursed down her cheeks. She couldn't understand why they would all take their own life, especially the young ones. She could tell that they did this to themselves because there were no other wounds on the bodies, so there was no sign of struggle that would be present if someone else had slit their throats.

Kagome paused next to a small child and knelt down beside him. Lifting her hand, she gently cupped the young boys face and felt that his body was still a little warm. They did this not too long ago, so she knew there was still time to bring them back to life but she feared that she might not have enough time to bring everyone back. There had to have been close to 25,000 youkai here and she only had 24 hours before their souls would pass on. She couldn't bring a soul back after their souls left this plain of existence. To make it even worse she was completely exhausted, the travel here had been taxing on her reiki.

"You had said that your visions had shown you Yami, correct?" Kagome nodded when she heard Nisshoku's question and turned slightly to look at him over her shoulder. "I believe this was his doing. He can control people through their dreams Kagome." Kagome looked down at the young boy in puzzlement as she thought about what he said.

"Then why didn't he do this to all the youkai we have come a crossed? If he is capable of this, then wouldn't it have been easier for them to just do this from the start to get their army?" She had asked them in complete confusion. Not that she wasn't happy that he didn't decide to do this to everyone else but it just seemed odd to her was all. Every time she came across a Dark General she was left with more questions than answers... It was almost like they were toying with her, but what was their end game? So many things didn't make since!

"I don't know Kagome... But I do know that Yami loves the suffering of others. He feeds off of it. It is like an addiction to him." Nisshoku said softly and noticed Kagome shudder in disgust.

"I don't know if I can bring everyone back. I have almost completely drained my reiki and it needs time to recuperate." Kagome said sadly as she looked around in defeat. She had been too late, if only she had pushed herself harder in getting here then she could have stopped this. But because she didn't some innocent souls will be lost and tortured in Akuma's clutches.

"Do not blame yourself Kagome! This is not your fault!" Saisei told her firmly as he picked up on the despair that rolled off her in waves. Kagome was about to say something but stopped when she saw her amulet begin to glow brightly as it lifted from around her neck to point at the stairs that lead further up the mountain. She began to feel an urgent tug in that direction and slowly she got up before quickly making her way up the stairs.

She pushed herself harder as she raced to the top of the steps. Once she finally made it, she started to run in between the stone buildings. It wasn't long before she broke clear of the stone huts and entered into a clearing. More bodies were littered all over it and slowly Kagome started to walk forward. She carefully walked around the deceased, making sure not to stumble or step on them. The closer she got to the center, the brighter her amulet grew and it soon began to hum. A soft glow off in the distance caught her attention and she quickly made her way towards it.

As she finally came closer, she saw what it was... The next book. But what disturbed her most was the fact that she didn't have to find it herself, it was already found for her. Kagome stared down in sadness and anger. The book laid innocently on top of a dead youkai's chest, but it wasn't just any random youkai though. The book was purposely placed and was done so after the Daiyoukai's death. She could tell since there was no blood on the book and the youkai wasn't holding it. There was only one being that could have done this, Yami was leaving her a message but she couldn't understand what it was. Furthermore, if he had found the book then why didn't he take it to the Dark Champion? Why did he leave it for her?! It almost seemed like he was giving it to her like some sick and twisted present.

Kagome slowly knelt down next to the Daiyoukai and touched his face, he was still warm as well. She glanced at the book in apprehension, she was almost scared to touch it... What if it was a trap?

"What's wrong Kagome?" Hikari softly asked as she and the others finally caught up to Kagome's kneeling form.

"What if it's a trap? How did he even find the book to begin with?" Kagome frantically asked. "Why didn't he take the book? Why help me by giving it to me?!" Kagome continued as her breathing got heavier.

"Kagome calm yourself. We will figure it out." Nisshoku calmly told her as he walked up and laid his hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. Kagome whipped her head around and looked up at Nisshoku. "What is his end game?!" Nisshoku sighed as he looked down into her sad blue eyes.

"I don't know Kagome..." Nisshoku told her softly. He wanted nothing more than to take away her fear and confusion but he simply couldn't. He had no idea why Yami left her the book.

Kagome turned her head back down to look at the dead Daiyoukai but her attention was taken by Saisei as he walked over and picked up the book. She watched him as turned the book over in his hands to study it before quickly flipping through the pages. "Maybe it's because he knows the Dark Champion can't get this Guardian." He told everyone out loud as he smirked. He held the book up and showed the other Guardians the cover of the book.

"Seimei No Sho." Yuki said out loud before she let a smirk of her own cross her blue lips.

"The Book of Life." Byggvir said and looked over at Hikari. He let out a smile when she gave a nod of her head, he had gotten it right. He was curious about the High Priestess's homeland and had asked all sorts of questions about the land called Japan. Kagome and her Guardians had taken to teaching him how to speak Japanese throughout their journey together, he was picking it up rather well. He had also taken to learning the languages the Guardians were teaching Kagome, it was something they both enjoyed as they would practice by trying to speak to each other in those languages. At first he didn't understand what the point of learning it was when the Guardians could just translate it but Kagome had explained why it was so important. She told him that if everyone was going to work together then it was important to not only learn the languages of all the people but to learn their culture as well. Knowledge was true power... And he started to see exactly what she meant. He was the next in line for the Scandinavian Throne and he needed to learn as much as could, mentally as well as physically. That was why he was here after all. He turned his attention back to the High Priestess and Saisei when he saw the Phoenix give her the book.

"I doubt it's a trap Kagome. Yami can't alter the book in anyway." Saisei told her as Kagome took the book from his hands and nodded. "Alright, I'll summon the portal." She whispered in return.

Stepping back from the Daiyoukai's dead body, Kagome opened the book and began to whisper the chant. Everyone watched as the familiar wisps of black and purple began to swirl around each other to form the portal. Once the book disappeared from Kagome's hands, she looked over her shoulder at everyone. "I'll be back." They all nodded and watched as she disappeared through the portal.

"Why do you think that the Dark Champion can't pass this Guardian's trial?" Byggvir asked after Kagome disappeared.

"Because... To pass this trial you have to preform a selfless act." Saisei said with a smirk. "And I doubt the Dark Champion is capable of that."

"But the Champion of Light on the other hand is nothing but selfless. This should be her easiest trial yet." Nisshoku added and everyone hummed in agreement.

"Hmmm... I wonder what path she will take?" Misuto asked out loud to no one in particular. Hikari let out a soft snort before stating the obvious. "The difficult one... Like always."

"Indeed." Yuki purred out with a small smile and the others joined in with a laugh.

All except Byggvir, who was confused. "what path?"

* * *

Once the portal disappeared, Kagome took a good look around. She stood in the middle of a large bamboo forest. The sunlight beamed through the leaves in certain spots, lighting up the smooth grey pebbled path that led through the forest. Taking a couple of steps forward, Kagome began to follow the path ahead of her. As she walked she couldn't help but wonder about this Guardian. She only had three Guardians left and she couldn't help but wonder what morals they will test her on. Ten minutes into her walked Kagome stopped and looked forward in puzzlement. The path had forked, looking right first then to the left, she gave out a long sigh... Neither gave her any hint to what direction to take. Ahead of her was a sign written in Chinese, not that it was helpfully at all. Kagome gave it a hard glare as she read them out loud.

"Right or left... Thank you captain obvious." Kagome huffed and crossed her arms. Both paths looked the same. Neither of them looked any different so with a sigh and a half hearted shrug, Kagome went with her instincts and started to walk down the path leading to the left. She just hoped it was the right one to take.

As the path began to curve and go down hill, Kagome paused again. A small kit sat further down the path. They stared at each other for a few moments before the kit slowly got up and turned to trot further down the path. After a few moments, it stopped and looked back at Kagome to see if she was following. Kagome noticed this and slowly began to walk again, thinking that the small fox was perhaps leading her to where she was suppose to go. Following the fox for another ten minutes, it wasn't long before the bamboo began to clear and a small youkai village came into view. She watched as the fox crossed over the small wooden bridge before looking at Kagome again than sat back down to wait for her. Kagome continued to walk towards the fox and as soon as she stepped on to the bridge the fox jumped up and took off into the village, quickly disappearing from her sight.

Kagome calmly began to walk through the small village, the youkai residents looked over at her with caution and slight curiosity but no one approached her. Kagome let her reiki slightly flow around her in a calm manner, hoping to exude that she wasn't there to harm them in anyway. Most of them started to relax but they still watched her curiously. Unknown to Kagome, she did have a follower though. Bright green eyes watched her carefully as she made her way through the market in the village. The fox making sure to keep hidden in the shadows.

Kagome looked around at all the different stands in wonder, casually looking at all the items. She couldn't help but wonder what she was suppose to do now that she was in the village. Looking around, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary or any kind of sign of what she should be doing. Crossing her arms, Kagome gave out a small sigh as she slowly continued forward. Mentally going through a list of all the morals she could think of to try and figure out what this trial could possibly be. So lost in thought, Kagome slightly stumbled as she ran into something. Quickly catching her balance, Kagome steadied herself and looked down to see what she ran into.

Bright blue eyes looked back up at her in fear and Kagome watched as the small youkai child quickly backed up a couple of steps. Tilting her head slightly, Kagome gave the little girl a tiny smile before kneeling down on one knee. The little girl watched her cautiously but hesitantly returned the smile.

"I'm sorry little one. I didn't mean to run into you." Kagome softly told her in Chinese. She watched as the little girl blushed before giving Kagome a small but quick bow. The little girl shyly looked back at Kagome but didn't say anything. Kagome was about to say something else to her but was stopped by a loud ruckus coming from behind the little girl. Standing back up, Kagome noticed four other little children behind the little girl. They were standing in front of a food stand that sold sweets and other varieties of food. She watched as the man that owned the food stand shout at the children to begone as he made a shooing motion with his hands. The four little ones looked down sadly, two of them began to turn away but the other two kept trying to snag a sweet when the man wasn't looking. But he was no fool and lightly smacked the little boys hand that tried to grab for it. Kagome couldn't help but let out a giggle as she watched the ornery little boy and his friends.

"Are those your friends?" Kagome asked as she looked down at the little girl again. She gave Kagome a big smile as she nodded before pointing at the stand."Sweets!"

Kagome laughed and held out her hand for the little girl to take. Once Kagome felt her little clawed hand wrap around her own she led the little one back to her friends in front of the food stand. She noticed the little boy trying to make a grab for the sweets again and quickly reached out to ruffle the little boys hair, catching his attention. He quickly turned around and shot Kagome a glare before trying to fix his hair, it only made Kagome smile bigger. She took a quick look at the five children and seen them looking back at her with hopeful eyes. She truly was a sucker for the puppy dog eyes. She gave them a smile before turning back to the man behind the stand. He glared at her and gave off a irritated huff. She only smiled back at him before looking down at the food he was selling. She saw some Zongzi and Mung Bean Cake on two different platters and pointed to them. "Five of each please."

"Do you have enough to pay for those?!" The man gruffly asked as he glared at her and Kagome paused. She forgot about the money, she knew she didn't have any Chinese currency on her. The man huffed again before shooing her away as well. Kagome scoffed and glared at the man, she heard five little sad groans as the children looked down in disappointment. Kagome was about to turn away but a then she remembered something, it wasn't money but it did have value. Moving her right sleeve back a little, Kagome saw her tiny gold bracelet. Lady Esha, her friend from India, had given it to her as a farewell gift. She really didn't want to part with it but looking at the five sad little faces made her sigh in defeat... Kids truly were her weakness. Carefully taking the gold bracelet off, Kagome turned back to the man behind the stand.

"Excuse me! Will this be enough?" Kagome asked and watched as the man looked down at her gold bracelet. Picking it up, he examined the gold trinket carefully. He gave Kagome a weary look before looking back down at the bracelet then nodded. Kagome gave him a smile and watched as he took some Zongzi and a small Mung Bean Cake before putting it on a bamboo leaf then handed it to her. One by one Kagome handed out the food to the children and as she did she decided that their smiles were worth it. She was sure Lady Esha would understand.

The little fox watched the Miko carefully, she was surprised that the Miko passed on the first opportunity, most had always passed by the children without a second glance. The Miko had technically passed her trial but the fox was curious to see how far the Miko's selflessness would go. She still had two more opportunities coming up so she decided to wait and watch. Carefully she followed the Miko and watched as she continued to walk through the market, the children following close behind her as they happily munched on their new treats.

Kagome watched with amusement as the children continued play and run around her in their excitement. She noticed that most of the youkai in the village started to relax once she started to play with the children. So preoccupied with their fun, one child wasn't paying attention to where he was going and accidentally ran into an old woman. Kagome gasped out loud and reached out her hand but she knew she wouldn't make it in time. Everyone stopped and watched as the basket full of fruit fell from the woman's hands and scattered all over the ground. The little boy backed up slowly before bowing to the woman in apology. He looked back up at Kagome with watery eyes then down at the ground in shame. Kagome gave him a soft smile before patting his head, thankfully no one had gotten hurt. Walking forward, Kagome lifted the basket and began to pick up the fruit. Soon the children seen this and eagerly helped her. When everything was picked up, Kagome walked over to the old lady and handed the basket back to her with a bright smile. The woman thanked Kagome and offered her a fruit for helping but Kagome declined, telling her to keep it and that she didn't want anything in return for helping her. The woman gave Kagome a smile and nodded before watching her turn back to the children and continue down the path.

After another 10 minutes of playing with the children had passed, Kagome began to notice she was nearing the end of the path. She paused a moment and began to wonder when the Guardian would show up. She was surprised that the Guardian hadn't made an appearance yet. Lost in thought, Kagome didn't notice that the children started to lag behind. When she finally reached the end of the path, she looked out into the small clearing that separated the village and the forest beyond it. Kagome was about to turn back to the village but a shrill sound of a war horn made her turn back to the forest in surprise.

She watched as about 15 human bandits came running out of the forest with their weapons drawn and made their way towards the village from the right side. The attack came suddenly and from out of no where, it wasn't long before Kagome began to hear screams. Quickly she ran to the children and ushered them to the left side before telling them to run. Once she saw that they followed her directions and did what they were told, she summoned her swords and took off towards the fight.

It didn't take her long to find her first bandit before she raced towards him and blocked his sword as it swung down towards an injured youkai. The man glared at her from the side as he tried to put more strength in pushing his sword down but Kagome refused to give him the chance as she slammed her shoulder into him from the side to knock him off balance. As their swords became unlocked, Kagome used that opening to turn around and face him before bring her right sword up into an upper slash, cutting him deeply across the chest. As the man fell completely, she made quick work in finishing him off before looking back at the injured youkai. Helping him up, she told him to gather all the women and children and get them to safety. The young man nodded frantically before doing as he was told and Kagome looked around.

She swiftly took off towards the middle of the village and cut two more bandits down. The youkai's of the village did their best to protect their people and Kagome noticed that they successfully took down 9 other bandits but there were many that were injured. Kagome spotted two bandits fighting a burly panda youkai and was about to jump in and help them but a loud scream coming from her right took her by surprise.

Quickly looking over, Kagome saw a mother hovering over her child, trying to protect her little one from the bandit. It was almost like watching the scene in slow motion as the bandit lunged forward to strike the mother down and Kagome knew she only had a couple of seconds to react. Without another thought, Kagome summoned her flame portal and appeared in between the two. She watched as the bandit's eyes widened at her sudden appearance before her eyes widened as well, but her was from slight fear. She realized a little too late that she didn't have enough time to bring her swords up in defense and a split second later she felt his sword embed itself into her chest.

A sharp gasp left her lips as every single one of her nerves wracked with intense pain. In complete bewilderment, Kagome looked down at the sword that now protruded from her chest. She dazedly wondered where her armor had gone... Or if she even had it from the start, she wasn't sure and couldn't remember. Blinking a couple of times, Kagome looked back at the bandit and noticed he was completely still. It was like he was frozen and she offhandedly notice that all the noise had stopped as well, it was nothing but still and silent now. It seemed like minutes had gone by but really it was only about 10 second, she watched in a daze as the bandit slowly began to crumble and turn to ash before the wind took him away. Next she watched as the sword in her chest slowly do the same, along with everything else around her. Everything was blown away except for the now empty clearing that was surrounded by the bamboo forest.

Kagome took a deep breath as she watched her wound slowly close itself and let out a shuddering breath. Just because she can't die from something like that anymore didn't mean that it was any less painful... And Kagome found out that getting STABBED in the CHEST hurt like a BITCH! Needless to say, she learned this lesson well! Kagome slowly shook her head, trying to come out of her shock and when she finally looked down in front of her she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"HOLY SHIT!" Kagome clutched the fabric of her cloak that was covering the side of her chest, over her rapidly beating heart. Taking a deep breath Kagome glared back down at the little fox that was currently sitting in front of her, wondering where in the hell the little creature had come from. The damn thing wasn't there a minute ago! She watched as it's small head tilted to the side in a cute manner before growling at it. 'Wait a damn minute!' She thought to herself as she studied it further.

"Your the Guardian, aren't you?!" Kagome growled out in irritation and watched as the little thing yipped happily in agreement before scowling at it. "Of course you are!" She muttered, the Guardian had been with her from the start.

Kagome took a step back as the fox began to glow a bright green and when the light died down she turned to face the next Guardian. Standing in front of her was a beautiful woman, looking back at Kagome in sheer amusement. She stood at about 5'10 and had to be in her late 20's. She wore a beautiful white and light green ruqun, holding a paper umbrella in her left hand and a dark wooded Bo Staff in her right. Her hair was a deep rich orange that flowed down to her knees, the top half was pulled back into a messy bun that had two chop sticks holding it in place. Her eyes were a bright apple green that dance with laughter and mischief as she gazed at Kagome. The scowl across Kagome's face only made the fox laugh out loud and Kagome couldn't help but be reminded of soft chiming bells, Kagome huffed.

"Well... Was getting stabbed in the chest good enough to pass your trial?!" Kagome asked sourly. The moral became all too clear to Kagome now as she thought about it. The fox giggled even more before nodding. "You know, I had technically passed the trial when I first gave up my bracelet for the children! Was it really necessary to drag this out all the way to the end!?" The fox gave out a snort like laugh as she tried to control in her amusement.

"Oh Miko, I'm going to have so much fun with you!" Kagome huffed before muttering. "Greeeeat, just what I wanted to hear." The fox let a charming smile cross her ruby lips before speaking again.

"Miko, you have proven to This Inari that you are more selfless then any creature This One has ever come a crossed. Take This Inari's stone and add it to your amulet." Inari gave another giggle before green vines came up from the ground to wrap around her and pull her back down into the earth. Hovering above the spot that Inari once stood upon was a deep green Emerald. With another small huff, Kagome made her way to the gem and picked it up. Once she felt Inari place her mark on her back, she turned and headed to the portal.

* * *

Everyone looked up as Kagome walked back through the portal and smiled at her, they knew she would pass this one easily. Suddenly her amulet glowed a bright green before Inari appeared beside her with a smile. Kagome shot her a small glare but snapped out of it as soon as she heard Hikari laugh.

"I told you she would pick the hardest path!" Hikari said with a smirk as she looked over at the others. Kagome looked at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked dumbfounded.

"You took the left path didn't you?" Nisshoku asked with a smirk of his own.

"Yea... How did you know that?" Kagome narrowed her eyes at him in wonder.

"We can tell from your scowl... You choose the longest route." Yuki said with a small smile.

Kagome felt a hand lay on her shoulder and looked up to see Saisei. "You should have taken the right path Kagome, you only would have had to answer three questions correctly then you would have passed." He whispered in her ear as if it was some secret and Kagome's glare became murderous as she looked at Inari. " Is that true!? All I would have had to do was answer questions!?" A small smile crossed Inari's lips as she gave a slight shrug.

"Oh come on Kagome, it couldn't have been that bad..."Misuto said as she tried to lighten her mood but it only made it sour even more. Kagome huffed before crossing her arms to pout. Absentmindedly she reached up and rubbed across the spot where the wound use to be and grimaced. "You try getting stabbed in the chest with a sword and see if you guys are blowing sunshine outta your ass!" The others chuckled softly as they finally understood what sparked her fire up into a blazing inferno.

Kagome glanced over at Inari when she felt her touch her shoulder. Inari brought her hand up and opened it, Looking down Kagome saw her little gold bracelet laying in her palm. Kagome looked back up at Inari's smiling face before giving in and smiling back. Picking up the bracelet, Kagome let out a happy sigh, she was glad that she got her gift back.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 9**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed the Chapter. Until next time! :D

-PEACH

*Zongzi- A Chinese rice dumpling.

*Mung Bean Cake- A Chinese rice cake.

* * *

 **MYTHOLOGY FACTS/ VIKING FACT (Only here for your curiosity, you can skip if you like)**

* Fenrir is one of the sons born from the god Loki. He is a large wolf that was foretold to kill the god Odin (The father of the gods) in the event of Ragnarok. -Norse Mythology

* Sleipnir is the great steed of Odin. He is an eight-legged horse that can be rode to Hel (Yes, it is spelled with one L, not two lol). Sleipnir is also another son of the god Loki. -Norse Mythology

* Grani is another horse from mythology, He is a kin to Sleipnir but he does not have eight legs, only four. -Norse Mythology.

*Ragnarok (Rag-na-rock) is an event that was foretold to happen. It is the war of the Norse gods. -Norse Mythology

*Midgard (Midd-gard) is one of the nine realms of the Yggdrasil (Eeg-drass-ill) Tree, it is the realm of humans. -Norse Mythology

*Valhalla (Val-hal-uh) is the hall of the fallen, it resides in Asgard(As-gard), Realm of the Gods. Only valiant warriors can be taken there by Valkyries after they die in battle. -Norse Mythology

*Helheim (Hel-hym) (Hel) is another realm of the Yggdrasil Tree, it is the realm of lost souls. -Norse Mythology

*Volva (Vol-vuh) is a term for a wise woman, a seer, an oracle. A woman of great knowledge and power, they are held in high esteem. - Viking Fact


	10. A Souls True Fate

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews, you guys are amazing! I hope you all enjoy the chapter and feel free to leave a review to tell me what you think! :D

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Byggvir (Pronunciation: Big-veer)- Prince of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Jarl Ragnvaldr (Pronunciation: Rag-val-dur)- Lord of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Lady Freyja (Pronunciation: Fray-yah) Lady of Scandinavia, Ragnvaldr's mate (Fire dragon)

*Princess Olyvia (Pronunciation: Oh-liv-vee-ah) Princess of Scandinavia (wind dragon)

*Lady Astrid (Pronunciation: Ass-trid) The Nest's oracle, Ragnvaldr's mother (Wind dragon)

*Sleipnir (Pronunciation: Slayp-near) - Kagome's Demonic Steed (Fire Horse)

*Grani (Pronunciation: Grah-nee)- Byggvir's Demonic Steed (Ice Horse)

*Yami- The shadow General of Akuma. One of four dark Generals. He is the Dreamwalker that controls people through their nightmares. (Shadow Youkai)

*Ashanti- The Shape shifter General of Akuma. One of Four dark Generals. She is the High General of Akuma's Army and is helping the Dark Champion. (Cobra Youkai)

*Akuma- The dark God. He is based off the god known as Yama or sometimes Enma depending on the culture, he is the god that judges the dead.

* * *

 _ **Recap of Chapter 9: After Kagome finds out about her new gift, she decides to Bless Lord Omari and his mate before leaving Africa. The amulet gives Kagome vision of the next Daiyoukai and the group heads to South America. Once they reach the Lost Incan Empire, the group discovers that Yami has beaten them to it, leaving the dead bodies of the Incan Youkai Tribe all over Machu Picchu. Kagome is cautious when she see the next book lying on the dead Daiyoukai's chest but with some encouragement from her group, she opened the portal and meets Inari, the Guardian of Life...**_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: A Souls True Fate**

* * *

Kagome watched as the flames of the campfire flickered and swayed, the group had settled down about two hours prier. The group had been traveling for the better part of three months, heading to their next location. Kagome was lost in thought as she tried to figure out where they were heading. After she passed Inari's test, the two of them focused on reviving all the dead Incans. Even though she was completely exhausted, she had pushed herself past her limits to make sure every last soul was saved from the darkness that threatened to consume them. That was when Inari stepped in to offered her help and decided to teach Kagome the first of two abilities that she had, the Iyashinohikari. Inari instructed Kagome to sit beside her before lending her strength. Together they meditated to draw together all their healing light and soon it had spread out reviving all that it touched. Once the light receded, it had left 25,000 confused youkai and a barely conscious priestess.

When Kagome woke up a couple days later, the first face she saw wasn't one that she had recognized. The woman had long black hair and light pink eyes. The clothes she was wearing were made of high quality and richly colored, telling her that the woman before her was high born. It wasn't long before Kagome found out that the woman watching over her was actually the Lady of South America, Lady Cavillaca. Her mate had joined them as soon as he was told that she had awoken. The Lord was tall, reaching about 6'6 in height. His hair was a deep green the was cut right above his shoulders and his eyes were the color of a rich violet.

His eyes... Kagome would never forget the haunted look that resided there as he coldly looked down at her. To her surprise, the snake lord calmly walked towards her before kneeling on one knee and introduced himself as Lord Acahuana. When their eyes met again Kagome understood exactly what he wanted without him saying a word, he wanted revenge and she couldn't blame him. She would too if she was forced to watch as one by one all the people you protected were forced to killed themselves. The feeling of hopelessness that consumed you when knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it was something she knew all too well. That was when she knew that this Lord would jump at the chance to help her take Akuma down... And so she told him who she was and why she was here. She was right, it took him five seconds to give his answer and their alliance was agreed on.

A week later the blessing process was done and that was also when she got her vision from the amulet again. It became pretty clear to her that she wasn't meant to linger here for very long and she wonder if it had to do with Yami. Rage burned through her as she thought about the Shadow General, she would NOT let him do this to anyone else. She too wanted nothing more than to continue her journey and hunt him down... And she knew right where she would find him, the next village. The only problem is that the amulet didn't give her anything she recognized, all she knew is that she felt a tug urging her to go North. She had a good idea that North America was her next and final stop before she would have to go back home. There was only two books left and she already knew that the last one was in Japan.

The group had been traveling through North America for about a month now but still haven't found the village. She knew she was getting close though, she could feel it. The tug was getting stronger. With a small sigh Kagome looked away from the flames, surveying her surroundings. The camp was quiet, the only sounds she could hear was the steady breathing of her companions as they slept peacefully around the small clearing. That was why when the sound of a twig snapping caused a small echo throughout the clearing. Kagome quickly turned her head to the left and looked into the treeline. The light from the campfire caused the shadows of the forest to dance, she couldn't see anything but something seemed off. Everything was calm and everything was quite, too quite. Slowly Kagome started to stand and turned slowly, her eyes following the treeline. She knew someone was there, the lack of sound from the forest gave that away. A slight shift of a shadow to her right caught her attention so she turned to face it.

Kagome watched as that shadow started to emerge from the forest and the tension slowly started to leave her when she saw a young woman break the treeline. Her long orange hair swayed around her as she slowly walked forward before she suddenly stopped. Kagome looked at the young woman oddly because she just stood there, not making a sound. Then again, another twig snapped followed by another. Slowly she watched as more youkai began to enter the clearing and Kagome grew a little nervous.

"Saisei" Kagome whispered out loud, hoping it would be enough to wake the fire bird from his deep slumber. "Saisei!" Another whisper but this time a little harsher. She watched as his eyes snapped open and quickly she gestured to look around them. She could hear her other companions beginning to stir as well and as she looked around she realized that they were surrounded. Again, another feeling of uneasiness took over her. Something wasn't right, looking back at the young woman before her, Kagome noticed that her apple green eyes were devoid of anything. No emotion, not even any kind of recognition was there. That was when she finally took notice of the small dagger in the woman's right hand and Kagome clenched her hands as she summoned her swords but other than that she didn't make another move.

"Kagome what's going on?" Byggvir whispered over to her and watched as she shook her head in a confused manner. "I don't know." She whispered back in utter bewilderment. The tension that filled the clearing was so thick it could be cut with a blunt knife. So it was no surprise that Kagome slightly jumped when a dark chuckle echoed throughout the area. The group quickly looked over towards the new presence that slowly formed behind the young orange haired woman and Kagome's eyes widened in recognition before turning to a glare of disgust. Everything began to click for Kagome.

"Let them go Yami! Your fight is with me." Kagome seethed out in disgust as she watched a sick twisted grin crossed his unnaturally large mouth, displaying the rows of jagged fangs. Yami chuckled again before he lifted his hand up to let his long black claws playful run through the woman's soft orange locks. "But what would be the fun in that, little Miko?" Kagome's whole body tensed as she prepared to move forward to stop him but then stopped herself.

"Ah Ahhh, little Miko, you wouldn't want me to hurt our guests now would you?" Kagome watched as he pulled his hand away to give the woman some room to lift the dagger and lightly press it to her own throat. Kagome reluctantly moved her swords to point down and took a step back. Yami grinned again before licking the woman's cheek with his snake like tongue. "That's a good Miko." Kagome shuddered but relaxed a little when she saw him step away from the young woman.

"What do you want Yami!?" Kagome asked through clenched teeth.

"What I want is very simple little Miko. All I want is for you to read a little book and pass it's trial." Kagome quickly took a step back as Yami threw the next Guardian Tome at her feet. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked down at the book covered in golden glowing symbols before looking back at Yami. "Why are you giving this to me? Why aren't you giving this to your Champion?"

"Hmmmm... I'll tell you what little Miko, if you pass that trial, I'll give you a little but very important clue to something I'm sure that you are dying to figure out." Kagome bit her lip and glared at him before looking down at the book.

"Or I could just kill you now and I'll worry about the trial afterwards." She seethed and Yami chuckled. "Such a feisty one you are. How about this, you open that portal and pass that trial, and I won't kill all these poor innocent villagers." Kagome tensed as she watched the rest of the villagers lift their daggers to their throats and slowly start to press down.

"STOP! Fine, I'll open the portal but no one gets hurt." Yami smile and with a wave of his hand the youkai villagers slowly brought their daggers back down. "You have my word, little Miko."

"I don't trust your word Yami." Kagome muttered but let her swords disappear from her hands before bending down to pick up the book. Yami laughed. "You don't really have a choice now do you." Kagome glared at him but started to whisper the chant. Everyone watched as the portal slowly started to form. Kagome looked behind her towards her companions and gave them an uneasy look before she looked back at the portal. Slowly she walked up to the portal and with a deep breath she walked through it. Her nervousness was beginning to eating through her calm manner, she had to pass this.

* * *

Kagome took a deep breath as she stepped completely through the portal and looked around. She was surprised to see that she was in a hut, but the closer she looked the more she began to feel like she knew this place. It was small inside and the only light source was coming from the fire pit. She watched as the flames flickered and swayed, the effect made the shadows dance across the walls. Taking another couple of steps forward, Kagome realized that she DID know this place, the personal belongings that were placed about became familiar to her as old memories began to rush back... It was Keade's hut. That thought made her pause, it had been a really long time since she last let herself think about her past in Japan.

The sound of fabric rubbing together quickly caught her attention and Kagome snapped her head to the right to look over her shoulder. There in the corner sat one of the people she could have gone the rest of her life without ever seeing again and would have been happy. Sitting in his usual crossed legged style, leaned back against the wall with his sword leaning against his shoulder was Inuyasha.

"So... You finally came back. Why?" His voice was low and harsh. It took a couple of minutes for the question to truly sink into Kagome's head before she narrowed her eyes and answered back.

"What do you care? As far as I'm concerned it's none of your business." She growled out lowly.

"Keh! Of course it is... I gotta make sure you don't go around and fuck things up again. You gotta a bad habit of doing that you know. Always causing trouble and never strong enough to get yourself out of it! Always making everyone else to save your sorry ass and pick up your slack." Inuyasha shot back aggressively, Kagome completely turned around to glare at him before she closed her eyes and sighed. 'He wasn't real...' She told herself. This was just a test. She just needed to figure out what the test was though. But even knowing that this was a test it didn't make the hurt she felt when she looked at him dim any less. Kagome took another deep calming breath before opening her eyes again to look at him.

"Why are you here wench? You have some nerve to come back here and show your face after everything you did! What, killing all those innocent youkai wasn't enough? We don't want you here, stupid Bitch, so you need to leave!" The Inuyasha look alike spat out at her and Kagome clenched her fist as her eyes turned into a murderous cold glare.

"That was an accident, I never intended to hurt anyone." Kagome told him through gritted teeth before she heard the Inu Hanyou give out a bitter laugh.

"Yea, ok sure... Just another example of how weak you are! You can't control your power and you can't control your emotions! That is why Kikyo will always be better than you in every way! She would have never made such a deadly mistake! And here you wonder why I choose her over you..." Inuyasha bit out mockingly as he continued to laugh. "I could never love someone so weak!" Kagome closed her eyes again and took another deep breath. After all the time that had passed Kagome realized that his words, that once would have hurt her, didn't hurt anymore. The only thing that hurt was the reminder of the betrayal he had partaken in. She knew that he would never love her like he loved Kikyo and she accepted that, but she at least thought he valued her as a friend. She wasn't going to take his loud mouth abuse though, she was stronger than what she use to be back then. She would not take his abuse any longer and with that thought she opened her eyes before turning around to head to the door of the hut.

Kagome paused at the door frame before looking back over her shoulder to look at Inuyasha."This one has never been weak Inuyasha. It took getting away from you and your abusive words for this one to figure that out though." Kagome told him, reverting back to talking as she had been taught by Lady Astrid to separate herself from her past to who she was now and before he could respond, she walked out the door.

The moment she moved the door mat and walked outside she had to squint her eyes because of the bright light of the sun. A small shadow darted across the ground causing Kagome to look up and she noticed a silver eagle soaring above her but other than that, nothing else gave sign of life. The village was just how she remembered it but no one was mulling about like they should have been but Kagome quickly shrugged it off. Now she had to figure out where to go from here, she still didn't have a clue as to what this test was about nor did she get any clue as to where she needed to go and she was reluctant to turn around and talk to Inuyasha again. So instead she decided to head to the one place that was as close to home as she will ever get, even if it was all fake. Turning to her left, Kagome began to make her way out of the village. As she walked she silently reflected to herself about her past, she couldn't help but wonder if there was anyone else from her past that she will end up meeting again. Just as she had that thought, a familiar figure could be seen at the entrance of the village and Kagome let out an irritated groan. Long black ebony hair swayed slightly as the woman turned around to face Kagome. Cold brown eyes silently watched her as she approached and Kagome returned it with a glare of her own.

"Kikyo... Can't say that this one is surprised to find you in my way, again." Kagome flatly told the undead miko that now stood before her.

"It was never I that was in your way but more of the other way around." Her cold voice sent silent shivers up Kagome's spine as she looked into Kikyo's cold dead eyes. "If I had gotten in your way before hand, it was only because you had tried to take something that was never yours to begin with." Kagome scoffed before replying.

"Well, rest assured, you can have him." Kagome told her coldly, her voice just as devoid of emotion as the dead miko before her.

"Truly Kagome? You expect me believe that my reincarnation has no feeling for the same man that I loved from when I was alive? I doubt it, you want him just as much as I do but I will never allow you to have him. Of course, I am not worried about him choosing you over me though, our love is unbreakable." Kikyo said with a malicious smirk, fully expecting her reincarnation to burst out in anger or break down in tears, like she would have done many years ago but to her surprise Kagome didn't. Kagome just smirked right back.

"This one maybe your reincarnation BUT we are completely different. So... He's all yours Kikyo. Best of luck to you both." Kagome's smirks grew slightly bigger before she side stepped Kikyo and walked past her.

"You will always want him Kagome! You can not deny it! You will always be in my shadow, you will always be second best, and you will never be good enough to be compared to me!" Kikyo's voice rang out in anger as she spun around to yell at Kagome and watched as Kagome paused in step before letting another cold smirk cross her lips.

Kagome sighed but didn't turn around to face Kikyo like she wanted. "Kikyo, this one surpassed you a long time ago. I will NEVER want anything of yours." And with that said Kagome began walking again, making her way to the well.

It didn't take long for Kagome to climb the hill that lead to the well and as she almost reached the top, another shadow danced across the grass. Kagome furrowed her eyebrows before looking up again only to see the same eagle as before and a small smile crossed her lips. She had a good idea where the next Guardian was and whatever it was that she was doing must be the correct path she needed to take. That smile was quickly wiped off her face though as she finally looked down to glance at the well. It wasn't the well that had her surprised though but more of the person the was standing in front of it. The figure was facing the well so Kagome couldn't see their face but the clothing was unmistakable. Long obsidian locks fluttered as the wind played with the strands and the familiar white and green school uniform also danced around the slim figure. It was only a few moments later when the young girl finally turned to face Kagome. Blue clashed with blue and Kagome stood frozen where she was, rooted to her spot, she didn't dare move any further. She watched as painful emotions crossed her past self's eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks and she couldn't help but be affected by it.

This is what she used to be like, it was odd to see yourself staring back at you. Kagome then realized that this was her weakness... All her self doubt, everything she had been fighting to overcome for so many years. Her love for Inuyasha, her anger at being kept in Kikyo's shadow, and now her weak and feeble self that had been chewed up and spit out over and over again until little to nothing was left. Kagome clenched her hands into a fist but refused to say anything and waited with baited breath.

"What are you doing?" Her younger self sobbed. "Why didn't you just go back? Inuyasha was right, we don't belong here!" Kagome breath hitched but still she didn't say anything.

"They were right, it was all our fault! Shippo and Kirara died because of us... We weren't even strong enough to defeat Naraku. Kikyo, Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru were the ones who killed him. They never needed us." Kagome's past self slowly dropped to her knees as she began to cry in her hands, her voice now muffled as she continued to talk and Kagome slowly began to walk forward to hear her better.

"We couldn't even kill him..." She watched as her hand fell away before clenching into tight fists as her past self looked up to glare at her. "SO WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL THE DARK CHAMPION!" The anger that poured out of her past self took her back as she realized how bad she was broken before all this. Silence took over the clearing as to two mikos stared at each other, one broken and one who had found a new purpose. It was then that Kagome realized how far she had come, and it was then when she realized that no matter what, she could never let herself fall apart like this again. She was stronger now, everything she went through had forced her to be. Slowly her fist began to unclench and she took a steady breath to calm herself. She silently told herself that no matter what happened in the future, she will never give in and fall again, she would see this journey through to the end... And she WILL succeed this time. It was then that Kagome decided to speak.

"This one WILL succeed because this one is strong enough now... I am not you anymore. You died a long time ago." The words were whispered so softly but because of the silence, it carried across the clearing. Kagome watched as her past self looked up at her and two more tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I hope you will... Because there is no going back now." And with that said her past self slowly crumbled before the wind took her away. Kagome release a small breath that she had been holding and relaxed. A moment later Kagome felt a strong gust of wind blow past her before she quickly turned around. She watched as the silver eagle that had been following her slowly began to land. The bird was a lot bigger than she had first realized but she wasn't completely surprised, she figured that this was the Guardian.

Kagome silently watched as a silver light engulfed the bird and when it finally faded a man stood before her. He was tall, reaching about 6'5 and had long dark silver hair that reached his waist. His eyes were blood red, reminding her of twin rubies. He wore no shirt but was dressed in brown leather pants and on his chest was a red tattoo of a native American eagle. The most unique thing about him was the two giant silver feathered wings that sprouted from his back. He reminded her of angel, and his weapon of choice only added to that. A long metal bow rested in his right clawed hand.

"It is always hard to face one's past... But you did it bravely and most importantly you faced it with honesty. You had always known you were strong enough Miko, you just needed a little push to fully realize it. This Kazenosasayaki is very much pleased..." Kagome sighed before giving him a small smile. It was hard, especially facing herself but it was like she had said before, she was not that weak girl anymore and she vowed to never be that girl again.

"This one is pleased as well, Kazenosasayaki. I am glad to have you on my side." The man before her smiled before nodding his head. "Please, Miko, call me Sasayaki."

"As long as you call me Kagome." Kagome said with nod and watched as he nodded as well before walking up to her. She paused to see what he would do next and watched as he opened the portal. Kagome took a deep breath as she stared at the swirling purple and black wisps. Once she walked through there she will have to fight Yami and she nervously wrung her hands. She wasn't worried about herself but more about how she was going to help the youkai. Sasayaki looked over at the Kagome, giving her a confused look, he could feel that she was really uneasy.

"What is wrong Kagome?" Kagome sighed before turning her head to look over at her new Guardian. "We will have to battle as soon as we go through the portal. I am not so worried about the battle itself but more of the youkai that are being held captive. They are under a spell from a shadow youkai and he is using them as hostages. I just don't know how I can keep them from harms way as I battle Yami." Kagome told him and Sasayaki nodded his head in understanding before replying.

"Cast a barrier around the youkai then send a small jolt of reiki through them, not enough to harm them though. This will snapped them out of it." Kagome's eyes widened at that, why hadn't she thought of that before? Looking over at him, she gave him a bright smile and thanked him.

"Of course Kagome. Well, this one shall see you on the other side Miko." He told her with a wink before a tunnel of wind came down from the sky and just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared, taking him along with it. Hovering where he once stood was a oval moonstone. Walking up to it, Kagome picked it up and put it on her amulet and once she felt him leave his mark, she turned to face the portal. Taking a deep breath Kagome prepared herself before walking through the portal. One thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to end this quickly.

* * *

Once Kagome step back through the portal she used her flame portal to immediately disappear before reappearing behind Yami. She forcefully kicked the back of his knee with her foot to bring him down then used her shoulder to shove him to the side, forcing him away from the young woman he had hostage. Yami hissed in outrage before jumping back into the shadows to disappear. Kagome quickly summoned some barriers to protect the villagers and once they were trapped inside she sent out a small pulse of reiki like Sasayaki told her to. The slight shock of her reiki snapped the youkai out of their trance. They all looked around in confusion and panic but Kagome held strong, making sure to keep them locked inside and out of harms way.

It was then when her amulet glowed brightly and Sasayaki appeared. His timing was perfect because it was only a moment later when they heard loud screeching before they were bombarded by the Jinzu. Her Guardians all snapped to attention and pushed forward to hold the horde back. Byggvir pulled out two double sided battle axes from his belt before entering the fray as well. The Shikon mark on his forehead glowed bright as he summoned her reiki before building up his lightning attack and as he swung his axe down, lightning littered the ground before him causing devastation in it's wake.

Kagome's eyes flickered back and forth, searching the forest for any sign of Yami. Her whole body was tense as she stayed on guard, waiting anxiously for the shadow youkai to make his move... And she didn't have to wait long for it. A quick movement coming from behind her caused her to turn slightly but she wasn't quick enough to evade the attack. Searing pain engulf her right shoulder as Yami's claws dug into the right side of her chest. She clenched her teeth as she ripped herself away from him and disappeared into the shadows for safety. Looking down, Kagome saw three long and deep claw marks starting from the right side of her upper chest and ending at the top of her right shoulder. It was the only part of her that was left unprotected by her armor. Kagome gritted her teeth before summoning her swords and dashed out of the shadows. Yami had disappeared back into the shadows the moment Kagome did but Kagome knew how to force him out. As she dashed forward, she summoned a large amount of her reiki to her swords before she gracefully spun in a perfect circle, releasing her power. It lit the whole forest brightly, killing all the jinzu in it path as her power pulsed out in steady beats.

Off to her left side, her light revealed Yami with his arm up over his face in a attempt to shield his face. Kagome took advantage of this and raced forward, once she was close enough she brought her sword down and it ripped through Yami's right arm, cutting it completely off. A loud pained howl echoed throughout the forest before Yami swiped her with his left claw, drawing a thin cut across her cheek before Kagome could jump back. Kagome didn't have much time before Yami surged forward in a fit of rage, but unfortunately for him, Kagome wasn't in the mood to play around and wanted to end this quickly. Just as Yami came into striking distance Kagome brought up her swords and spun right, swinging her swords in a horizontal motion, cutting his head from his shoulders. But Kagome underestimated his momentum speed and before his body could turn to ash it ended up slamming into her, sending her barreling across the field, right into Sasayaki's tall frame sending them both to the forest floor. Sasayaki was the first to react and Kagome felt his arms wrap around her small figure. She could hear him asking if she was alright and was about to answer him when she began to feel a little off. She turned slightly in his arm to look up at him when a wave of dizziness hit her. Everything around her began to slow down and just as everything stopped her vision went black.

* * *

 _Kagome gasped, her vision spun slightly and she almost felt sick. She realized blatantly that she was on her hands and knees as she stared down at the grass below her. Her hands felt wet which was odd to her and she lifted one to look at her palm. It was coated red and it only took her a second to process that it was blood. Glancing a little to the left, she saw a bloodied arm laying on the ground next to her. Her eyes followed the arm up and soon saw it belonged to a dead warrior, except it wasn't only just one. The further she looked around the more she began to realize that she was in the middle of a battlefield. But how did she get here? Only seconds ago she was in a forest in North America fighting Yami. The last thing she remembered was slamming into Sasayaki._

 _Kagome pushed herself up to sit back on her knees and further surveyed her surroundings. Bodies littered the ground for as far as she could see, the sky was painted a blood red and Kagome noticed offhandedly that she could see that the sun and moon were emerging with each other. 'A solar eclipse' she thought to herself in a daze. She had never seen one in person before now and oddly found it beautiful but wondered why the sky wasn't completely black like it should be. The sound of metal clashing with metal caught Kagome's attention next and she slowly looked to her right._

 _A woman in dressed in iron armor clashed swords with a man dressed in a armor suit of his own. She watched confused as the two traded blows, neither one able to over power the other. Running feet could be heard next and before she could really process where it was coming from the sound of another pair of weapons clashing came from above her. Looking up in surprise, Kagome quickly turned over to sit on her rear and scooted back. Wide eyes took in the image of Sasayaki and Hikari fighting. Sasayaki's metal bow was in front of him as he defended himself against Hikari's twin sais. She didn't understand though, why were they fighting?_

 _"Hey! What are you two doing?" Kagome asked as she slowly got up to stand on her feet. She went ignored, neither one of them acknowledged her so she tried again. Taking a step forward, Kagome reached her hand out to touch Hikari's shoulder. "Hey, stop! Why are you two fighting?" She tried louder this time and just as she went to touch Hikari, she fell forward. Quickly catching herself before she could completely fall, Kagome looked back up in surprise. Her hand had gone right through Hikari. 'What's going on.' She watched helplessly as the two continued to fight and then suddenly it stopped. She watched as both of them looked over at her for a second before bringing their weapons down to their sides. Kagome looked back at them confused, why were they just staring at her? Slowly Sasayaki started to walk towards her but she noticed that he didn't seem to be staring at her but slightly above her. She watched nervously as he continued to approach, wondering why he wasn't stopping and lifted her arms up to brace herself. Then to her great surprise, he walked right through her._

 _Slowly Kagome turned around and watched just in time as the woman in armor swept her leg out and tripped the man. Once he was lying on his back, the woman quickly got up, twirled her sword around to face downward and plunged the blade through the man's chest. Kagome gasped, watching as the woman stayed knelt down on her knees, not even bothering to look up as the Guardians approached her. Kagome saw Hikari walk up to the left side of Sasayaki. On the other side of the woman stood Saisei and Misuto, the four of them watched the woman in silence. Slowly Kagome made her way towards the group as well, curious as to what in the hell was going on but didn't say a word otherwise._

 _They watched as the man's body slowly crumbled into what looked like a pile of ash and silently they all watched as the wind carried him away. The woman let go of her sword before sitting back on her knees, letting her head fall back to face up at the sky. Kagome watched as her eyes slowly opened, revealing bright blue orbs. The wind gently played with the woman's golden locks and slowly a small sad smile crossed her pink lips._

 _"It is done... It is finally over." Kagome heard the woman whisper with satisfied warmth. Sasayaki stepped up from behind the woman and gently cupped her face to get her attention._

 _"The champion of light has prevailed." Was his gentle whisper back and the woman's smile grew bigger, a single tear slid down her rosy cheek. Kagome's eyes widened in realization, this was something from the past. She watched the woman closely and began to notice that the woman, like the man, was beginning to slowly crumble._

 _"The day has finally come. It is time to say goodbye, my love." The woman said a little louder this time and Kagome saw pain flash through Sasayaki's blood red eyes. "We will meet again, I'm sure of it." After that the woman fully crumbled, disappearing with the wind. Kagome saw Sasayaki tightly clench the hand that had been holding the woman's cheek previously, and blood soon began to spill from his palms as his talons ripped into his hand._

 _"Yes, one day we will. Goodbye... Senka." The words were whispered with so much pain that it brought tears to her eyes as she watched him. After a moment of thought, Kagome eyes widened again as she realized exactly what it was she was witnessing... She was watching what could soon be her fate. Like the woman that had once knelt before her, she couldn't help but wonder if this would be her end as well._

* * *

Kagome groaned, shifting on the hard floor that she was lying on, her right shoulder and chest were blazing with pain. It had been a long time since she last had to heal from a serious injury like this, she forgot that any injuries she got from the dark generals would heal a lot slower than what she normally would. The three deep claw marks that had tore from her right shoulder down to the middle of her chest would likely scar and Kagome gave a slight pained frown. Slowly her eyes began to open and she blinked a couple of times to clear her vision.

The first thing she saw was the inside of a roof made of straw, she could feel the heat of a fire off to the left and she could hear whispers from her right. Turning her head slightly to the right, she saw her Guardians and Byggvir talking to a elder youkai with long white hair and green eyes, the headdress that adorned his head told Kagome that he was the next Daiyoukai that she was looking for. Studying him a little further, she noticed that he wore brown leather leggings and a pair of moccasins. He wore no shirt which showed off his black markings, at first it looked like it was paint but she quickly noticed that the paint wasn't chipped like it should have been from moving around, so the only other thing it could have been was his youkai marking. Looking at his face, she saw that he had a black band that stretched across his eyes and a single red arrow that was in the middle of his forehead, she assume that those too were youkai markings instead of paint.

Next to him sat a young woman with long orange hair that reached down to her waist. She had it pulled over her right shoulder, showing off the small braids that weaved through her long locks, decorated with golden beads and a white feather. Like the man beside her, she too had youkai marking except hers were not black in color. She had a thick red band that stretched across her eyes, at the bottom of the band it was outlined with a small yellow line and under that was a line of orange dots. Her green eyes absentmindedly reached Kagome's and Kagome flinched in surprise. Images, faster than what Kagome could fully comprehend flashed across her mind. Kagome quickly looked away, rolled on her side and curled up in a fetal position. Facing away from everyone as she clinched her eyes shut, trying to stop what she was seeing. Kagome took a deep calming breath as the images began to fade, she quickly realized that what she was seeing were memories, which meant that what she experienced before was Sasayaki's memory of his lost love.

The thought saddened her but it also solidified the fact that what she had seen actually happened at one point. That woman died in Sasayaki's arms, she had no fatal wounds but she crumbled and disappeared just like the dark champion did. Was that her fate too? Was she going to die in the end? The only ones that could answer these questions were her Guardians, but would they if she brought it up? Kagome was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a hand touch her. She refused to turn and look over her shoulder, instead she used her reiki to feel who was behind her. Nisshoku, Saisei, and Sasayaki were standing over her in concerned and a part of her wanted to lash out at them. If it was true and she was going to die in the end then that meant that they knew... And they didn't tell her. But before anything else happened, she needed to know for sure.

"I wish to speak with Sasayaki alone please." Kagome whispered knowing they all could hear her. Her Guardians looked at each other in confusion but did as she asked. Saisei and Nisshoku walked over to the others and asked politely if Kagome and Sasayaki could borrow the hut for a moment. The Daiyoukai gave a nod and within minutes the hut was cleared. It was then that Kagome chose to speak.

"Why did Senka die?" Kagome could feel surprise surge through Sasayaki's aura and it took him a few moments to collect himself and answer her.

"Kagome, how do you know about Senka?" Kagome was silent for a moment before she continue to tell him what she experienced.

"When I got knocked back into you I believe I got pulled into one of your memories. I saw her Sasayaki. I saw you, Hikari, Saisei, and Misuto fighting. I saw her and the dark champion as well. I also saw how they both died. She had no mortal wounds that would have killed her... So why did she die?" Silence followed her question. A long moment passed before Sasayaki spoke again and it only confirmed what Kagome had thought.

"It is the fate of all the Champions... The Gods believe it to be too dangerous to leave souls that powerful in the mortal world. Champions are created for one purpose, and that purpose is to battle in the Divine War that has been going on since the beginning of time. Once your purpose is complete they will call back your soul so you may be reincarnated later and live as a regular mortal in the future. That is your reward for your sacrifice, if you are a Champion that has won then they will grant you happiness in your next life." Kagome scowled as she finally sat up but she kept her eyes down to avoid looking him in the eye.

She HATED being used as the gods little plaything. She felt like nothing more than a pawn that could be thrown a side as soon as she became unuseful. But at the same time she knew she had to let this anger go. She couldn't change it, there was absolutely nothing she could do to change this part of her fate and with that thought her shoulders slumped. The most she could do is continue to atone for all the wrongs she did in this life before she was forced to leave this place. Saving the youkai race and fighting in this Divine War was the only thing that kept her going. Kagome thought back to the lovers card that she had once drew and decided then and there, if this was her true fate then she would find a way to walk this path alone. She will not hurt anybody else, and she knew that if she were to let herself fall in love then it would make it that much harder to do what was right in the end. She wouldn't be able to handle another heartbreak. Plus, if what Sasayaki said was true, then she would be granted happiness in her next life. That thought made Kagome feel a little better. Squaring her shoulders with resolve, Kagome decided that this change of events will not stop her in what she was trying to accomplish, she will see this to the end and meet her death proudly. Perhaps the gods will allow her to have her Shippo back in the next life and that thought put a small smile on her face. But she did have one final question for him though.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Was it because they knew I would find out eventually with your memory ability?" Sasayaki gave Kagome a confused look before answering.

"Kagome, I do not have a memory ability... I do not know how you got pulled into my memory. Does this ability have to do with why you won't look at me?" Now it was Kagome's turn to look confused, although he couldn't see it for the fact that she still had her head bent down and was turned away from him but her aura screamed it. Sasayaki went to gently grab Kagome's chin to make her look up at him but before he could succeed, Kagome's arm reached out to push his hand away. The moment her bare hands touched him, more images flashed across her mind and she quickly pulled back, clutching her hand to her chest as if she had been burned.

"Every time I look someone in the eyes I see images of their life flash through my mind... And apparently when I touch someone the same thing happens as well." Kagome said with a small sigh. "This isn't one of your abilities?"

"No, I have two abilities. Tatsumaki, the ability to create power whirlwinds and Subete No Modoken, the ability to glimpse into the past, present and future. Kagome do you already have seer abilities? I know your kind is capable of such." Sasayaki watched as Kagome gave a nod and his mind began to rapidly work to try and figure out what was going on.

"Perhaps that is the reason why. I think that maybe my abilities amplified your already existing ones allowing you to search someone's soul." Kagome thought on this a moment before nodding her head. It was the only thing that really made any sense... She couldn't think of any other way she got like this if it wasn't one of his own abilities.

"As for why we didn't tell you is because we are sworn to silence by our parents. They believe that this knowledge would hinder their plans for the Champions. Senka only knew because I told her, and it is because of my mistake in doing so that she will never be reincarnated. My father told me it was my punishment for breaking their rules." Kagome gasp in surprise that his father would do such a thing. The pain he must feel over never being with Senka again must be agonizing. Slowly she inch her way to his side, careful to keep her head down and her hands to herself, she leaned into his side to offer him comfort. It appears that they were in the same boat, neither one of them could love... no matter how much they wanted to. At least for her, she will get her chance in her next life... He never will. That thought crushed her heart. Sasayaki was silent but took her offered comfort. But soon he had to pull away, they still had a lot to get done.

"Are you going to be alright Kagome? You're taking all this rather well." Sasayaki asked as he glanced down at her and watched her give a slight nod.

"As well as I can, I suppose... There really isn't anything I can do about it." Sasayaki grimaced but understood her point and dropped the subject. He had a feeling that she didn't really want to discuss it further and couldn't blame her. Thinking back on what she said earlier, he decided that there was something he could at least help with. Even though it was something small, it could help a little bit.

"Wait here a moment, I will be right back." He told her before he turned and walked out of the hut. He made his way to the group of Guardians, making sure Byggvir was busy doing something else, he then started to explain what was going on. He told them about the new ability she got and that she now knew about her pending death. After a small discussion, he left to seek out the Daiyoukai and asked him for some cloth. Once he had what he needed, Sasayaki headed back to the hut.

Kagome glanced over at the doorway of the hut, making sure to keep her head down, she watched Sasayaki's feet as he made his way back to her. She could hear him tearing up cloth and got curious as to what he was doing before looking at his hands. In his hands were three long strips of thin cloth.

"Here, wrap these around your hands." He said as he handed her two pieces of cloth strips. Kagome realized then where he was going with this and nodded. She wrapped her right hand first and then her left, however, she soon realized that she couldn't tie them so she lifted her hands up to Sasayaki in a silent question to tie them for her. He gave Kagome a small smile as he gently did so. Once he was done he turned to walk up behind her. Kagome glanced up and saw a cloth in front of her eyes and quickly closed them, letting Sasayaki tie the cloth around her head. She felt a little uncomfortable with not being able to see and she didn't like the fact that she had to be guided to where she needed to go but she kept that to herself. If she was being honest with herself then she really didn't feel like talking. Sasayaki helped Kagome out the door and walked her towards the group. The group was silent as she approached, no one really knew what to say to her and that was fine with her. Right now, there were more important things that needed to be done, like healing these youkai. There were about 30,000 youkai here and she knew that she would need Inari's help, she still felt a little weak from the fight she had yesterday.

"Inari, I am going to need your help with healing everyone, I am still feeling a little weak. Nisshoku, Saisei, and Sasayaki, if you could please talk to the Chief and explain what is going on and ask for his alliance. There is a high chance that I will need to rest after the healing. As soon as I wake up, if he agrees, then I will begin the blessing ritual." Kagome explained in a quite whisper. Once she heard their agreement, she nodded in the direction she felt Inari was in. "Inari, could you please escort me to the middle of the village? We will mediate there."

"Of course Kagome." Inari told her delicately and gently grasped her arm, leading her in the right direction. The rest of the group headed to talk to the Chief, except for Byggvir, he decided to stick close to Kagome. He could tell something was very wrong but couldn't figure out what it was. Something in the group had changed and he felt upset because he knew it revolved around the High Priestess. He felt this sudden and overwhelming urge to protect her, so he followed his instincts and was never more than 5 feet from her side.

Kagome had spent the next three days healing everyone in the village. She didn't feel strong enough to heal them all in one sitting and decided it would be best to space the healing out. It was a week after that when Kagome blessed Lord Wanageeska. Lord Wanageeska was a silver fox youkai and he had lost his mate to the curse about 15 years prior. The woman that had sat by him the day she woke up was his only kit, Lady Dyani. She was also the one that Yami had hid behind that night of the fight. The group decided only to stay until the Lord had awoken from the blessing process. Kagome was struggling with not having her eye sight and Byggvir suggested that she talk to his grandmother about this and Kagome had agreed.

The day they decided to leave to head back to Scandinavia, Kagome told Lord Wanageeska that she will be in touch with him sometime soon. All but one Guardian went back into the amulet for the upcoming trip. Because of the long journey, it was agreed on that Hikari would fly Kagome and Byggvir back to Scandinavia since it would be a taxing ride across the ocean.

One thing was for sure though... Kagome was tired. Not from anything specific but just everything in general. She definitely need a long break after this. Most importantly, she needed to sort and figure everything out.

* * *

It took a better part of three weeks before Byggvir finally touched her shoulder to wake her up. Lifting her head up slightly, Kagome carefully shifted herself upward and held onto one of Hikari's golden spikes that ran along her spine. She listened as Byggvir told her that they reached the Great Nest. He added that he could see his mother, father, sister, and grandmother waiting for them in front of the huge longhouse. She could feel the bright excitement that coursed through Byggvir's aura and she couldn't help but give him a small smile. She knew he must have missed his family very much and she couldn't help but miss her own. Giving a long sigh, Kagome lightly shook her head to try and get rid of the sad thoughts that were running amuck through her head.

Kagome held on tightly as she felt Hikari gently land and it was right after that when she felt Byggvir wrap his arms around her waist before jumping off of the dragoness's back. As soon as he landed and let go of Kagome, he then raced to his family. Greeting them with hugs and warmth, it had been almost two years since he had last seen his family. Although Kagome couldn't see the family of dragons, she could feel them. Their auras screamed with joy and Kagome felt bad for keeping him away from them for so long. Soon her amulet glowed brightly as the other six guardians released themselves and soon they joined the group. Byggvir was heard making introduction of the three new guardians to his father.

A soft touch to her arm brought Kagome out of thought and she turned her head to the left. Lady Freyja's voice soon reached Kagome's ears. "High Priestess, are you hurt?" Kagome shook her head no and gave the flame dragoness a small smile to soothe her, the last thing she wanted to do was worry her.

"She will be fine, my dear. This Astrid knows just how to fix this." Lady Mother's voice rung out calmly and Kagome sighed in relief. Leave it to Lady Mother to know exactly what was going on and know exactly how to fix it without her having to say a word. The two women gave Kagome a warm hug before they heard Jarl Ragnvaldr's voice boom out.

"High Priestess, This one thanks you for bringing his son back in one piece." Another warm smile crossed her lips as she felt the dragon lord's arm wrap around her shoulder in greeting.

"Of course, my Lord... Just like this one promised." The Lord gave out a chuckle before asking his next question.

"It seems we are missing someone though... Don't tell this old dragon that you got my trusty steed killed." Kagome gave a small chuckle as well before replying. "Of course not, my Lord... He is as stubborn as you are." With a slight flux of her aura, Kagome silently called out to Sleipnir. The ground rumbled before glowing hot as the earth began to crack. About a hundred yards out, a line of rubble made of dirt and rocks began to shoot up as Sleipnir emerged from the earth, making a blazing trail toward the group. Stopping about three feet from the dragon Lord, the fire horse greeted the family he had served since he was a young colt with excitement and they all laughed.

"This one is glade he served you well, and this one has no doubt that he will continue to do so in the future." Kagome finally gave a full fledged smile at the Lord, she was happy to be back. This is where she wanted to be... This was where she really felt like home, well second home, nothing could really compare to her family home. Her smile dimmed at that thought now that she realized that she will never see her family in the future. Taking a deep breath, Kagome held back her tears. She told herself that she will not shed her tears here, not now, she had to be strong. Taking another calming breath, Kagome felt Lady Astrid and Lady Freyja's arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Well, enough talk for now. You must be exhausted, let's get you inside. We shall see you all at the feast tonight." Lady Astrid told the group as she and her daughter guided Kagome towards the Royal Longhouse.

The women took Kagome up to Lady Astrid room and helped her sit down in a chair by the window. Kagome thanked them before she heard Lady Freyja tell her that she was going to go get her room prepared for her and gracefully left the two alone. Off to her left, Kagome could hear Lady mother ruffling through what she guess was a chest before making her way to Kagome. It was a moment later that she felt her untie the cloth that was around her eyes and Kagome clenched them shut once she felt it was removed.

"Lady mother, that's not a good idea-" Kagome began before she heard Lady Astrid tsk.

"Do you want to see, my dear?" Kagome sighed but nodded. "Of course."

"Then let this one help." Kagome bit her lip and decided to stay silent, letting Lady Astrid finish what she was doing. It was a moment later that she felt another cloth wrap around her head and frowned. She opened her eyes only to see a sheer white silky cloth blocking her vision. The only thing that stood out to her was a series of rune symbols that slightly glowed and shimmered. Next she heard Lady Astrid whisper a chant and once she was done, she told Kagome to bring forth her reiki. The symbols glowed a bright pink before fading and slowly Kagome began to be able to see through the cloth, it was so clear that it was like the cloth wasn't there at all. Lifting her hand, Kagome tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion, she could still feel the cloth. As if Lady Astrid understood her silent confusion, she explained.

"This will allow your reiki to see for you, but only if you use your reiki to feel your surroundings. If you pull your reiki back then you will see nothing but the cloth." Kagome nodded in understanding before hesitantly looking up at Lady Astrid to look her in the eyes and was relieved when no images appeared. Lady Astrid smiled down at her before reaching for her hands and began to untie them.

"This one has also had some leather gloves for you to wear so that touching others will no longer be a problem either." Kagome picked up the black leather gloves and put them on, she was relieved that she no longer had to wear the wrappings. These gloves will make grabbing thing a lot easier. "Thank you Lady Mother. This one really appreciates this." Lady Astrid smiled before running her claws through Kagome's hair in a soothing manner.

"You are most welcome, my dear." After a moment, Lady Astrid pulled her claw away and turned towards her chest and began to put everything back. "Well then, lets get you to your room so you may rest. We have some important guests staying with us that we want you to meet at dinner tonight." Kagome turned her head slightly in curiosity but before she could ask any questions, Lady Astrid shook her head and ushered her out of the room.

* * *

Kagome elegantly walked down the stairs to join the festivities in the throne room. The dress she wore was a deep red in color with black and gold dragons flying around in the fabric. Her long obsidian locks were braided and put up in a elegant bun, her moonstone circlet sat on top of her head, and her lips were painted a deep red. Carefully she watched her steps, trying as hard as she could not to trip over fabric of the long dress, it had been so long since she last wore one.

Looking around, she saw the royal family and her guardians sitting at the table that was set up in front of the thrones and made her way to them. Byggvir was the first one to see her approach and smiled at her.

"Father, the High Priestess has joined us." Jarl Ragnvaldr looked over to her and motioned for her to sit. Kagome smiled and gave a nod to everyone at the table before sitting down.

"My son tells me you all had quite an adventure. He has also told this one about his new marking. Is it true? Can he really use your holy light now?" Kagome smiled and gave him a nod.

"Yes, it was something this one planned to discuss with you. Sometime soon This one would like to bless you as well as the other Lords with this same gift." Jarl Ragnvaldr thought for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. "If you think that is for the best. This one will do all he can to help and accept your gift."

"Mate, since we are on the subject of Lords, you should probably introduce our guests to each other." Lady Freyja gently reminded her mate and watched his eyes widened slightly at his forgetfulness. "This one apologies, High Priestess, This one would like you to meet two allies of mine." Kagome looked up from her plate of food before looking down the table at the couple she didn't notice at first, in her defense, it was a big table.

"This one would like you to meet Lord Neptis and his mate, Lady Rayne. They are the ruling Daiyoukai over the 7 Seas." Kagome's eyes widened, she had thought that she meet all the remaining Daiyoukai but apparently she forgot one. The man at the end of the table bowed his head in greeting and Kagome quickly gave him the same respect. He was tall, even though he was sitting, she could tell he was around the same height as Lord Ragnvaldr. He had long sapphire blue hair that piled on the floor and his eyes were a sea green in color. He had a blue trident on his forehead, a sign that he was a Lord. He wore a long blue silk robe that was left slightly open showing off some of his upper chest. His mate also had long blue hair but hers was a lighter blue. Her eyes were the color of lilacs, and she wore a gentle smile across her purple lips. She was dressed in a silky violet dress that shimmered in the candle light.

"It is nice to meet you my Lord, my Lady." Kagome said politely with a nod of her head to the couple at the end of the table and watched as they nodded back.

"Like wise High Priestess." The two water elementals replied back.

"Is it true, High Priestess... Can you really heal us of the curse?" Lady Rayne asked, her voice filled with hope and Kagome nodded.

"Yes, this one would be more than happy to cure you and your people of it. How many youkai do you have under your care?" Kagome asked as she went back to eating the cooked pork that filled her plate.

"About 80,000 but not all of them are cursed. It seems only the youkai that could go on land are the ones that suffered this curse, so about 40,000 need your help." Lord Neptis informed her as he too began to eat his fill and Kagome nodded.

"Well, as soon as you are ready this one will be more than happy to help." The two gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Now that you have all your Guardians and alliances, what do you plan to do now, High Priestess?" Lady Freyja asked as she sipped her wine.

"Well, this one doesn't have all the Guardians yet... Or alliances. There are one more of each. The last tome is in Japan and so is the last Lord. But for now this one believes it would be best to gather everyone together." Kagome explained as she looked around the table to see their reactions.

"That's a lot of youkai... This one isn't sure if we would have enough room here." Lord Ragnvaldr mentioned out loud.

"No, it won't be here. It can't be here, it will need to be somewhere more remote. This one was looking over a map earlier and believe the best place for us would be Russia. Russia will for the most part stay remote in the future. For now, at least until this war is done, Russia will be the safest place." Kagome told everyone and silence filled the table for a few moments before Kagome broke it again. "After dinner this one will begin to write the letters to the other Lords and send one of my Guardians to deliver them and guide them back to where they need to go. Once everyone is together, we will finally be able to move forward and finish this fight."

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 10**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D

Until next time!

-Peach


	11. A Soul With A Plan

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews.

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Kazenosasayaki- Guardian of Wind/ Trial of Truth (Eagle)

*Byggvir (Pronunciation: Big-veer)- Prince of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Jarl Ragnvaldr (Pronunciation: Rag-val-dur)- Lord of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Lady Freyja (Pronunciation: Fray-yah) Lady of Scandinavia, Ragnvaldr's mate (Fire dragon)

*Princess Olyvia (Pronunciation: Oh-liv-vee-ah) Princess of Scandinavia (wind dragon)

*Lady Astrid (Pronunciation: Ass-trid) The Nest's oracle, Ragnvaldr's mother (Wind dragon)

*Lord Durai- Lord of India (Bengal Tiger)

*Lady Esha- Lady of India, Durai's Mate (White Tiger)

*Lord Nazar- Lord of Russia (Wolf)

*Lord Omari- Lord of Africa (Lion)

*Lady Amai- Lady of Africa, Omari's Mate (Lioness)

*Lord Acahuana- Lord of South America (Snake)

*Lady Cavillaca- Lady of South America (Snake)

*Lord Wanageeska- Lord of North America (Fox)

*Lord Neptis- Lord of the 7 Seas (Water Elemental)

*Lady Rayne- Lady of the 7 Seas (Water Elemental)

*Ashanti- The Shapeshifter General of Akuma. One of Four dark Generals. She is the High General of Akuma's Army and is helping the Dark Champion. (Cobra Youkai)

*Akuma- The dark God. He is based off the god known as Yama or sometimes Enma depending on the culture, he is the god that judges the dead.

*Jinzu- The souls of the Damned.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: A Soul With A Plan**

* * *

Shadows danced across the walls as the wind played gently with the flames of the candles that surrounded the study. The woman that sat behind the desk paused and looked up, she looked around her study in an almost lazy manner before looking out the window that was to her left. The sun was setting and the day was almost done, Kagome hadn't realized how much time had passed and set down her quill, right next to the book she had been writing in.

Slowly she stood up and walked around her desk, heading to her balcony doors to walk outside. Kagome leaned against the stone railings as she looked out into the small city below. She had done it, the city that she had seen so many times before was finally built and thriving. It was hard work, 40 years of hard work but everything was coming together. Once they had gotten to the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia she had quickly realized with the amount of youkai that were arriving that they had a lot of work to do. Thankfully everyone pitched in and worked together to build the magnificent city that surrounded her today, then the people had gave it a name... Of course it had many different names, her people called it the Kibo no Machi. The Russians called it the Gorod Nadezhdy, the Indians called it the Aasha Kee Shahar, and the Norse called it Hoppas Stad but no matter what it was called the translation was the same, It was the City of Hope.

The city below her was small, most of the nobles and servant quarters were built on the island along with the 7 castles. She had made the decision early on upon her arrival here to build the castles on Karaginsky Island. The island was close to a thousand square miles and was close enough to the mainland of the Peninsula, which was where most of the youkai resided in, making a massive city along the coast. The castles were built creating a circle, the purpose of this was to protect the tall temple like building that was placed in the middle of it, her residence. Although she rarely stayed there, she mostly stayed in the Japanese Shiro, the Temple of light was where she placed her holy children. That was what the nobles had decided to call them. After Kagome had seen her true fate from Sasayaki's memories she has had to make some very important decisions. She had worked too hard to get where she was today and she was not about to let this all go to waste upon her death. So 10 years ago Kagome had sent her Guardians out on a search... A search to find orphan children that were gifted with holy light. Children, she knew, could be molded and taught with open minds. It would be to risky to bring in more mature Monks and Mikos that are too narrow minded to see past there own hatred for the Youkai kind.

Her Guardians had found and brought her 12 children, six girls and six boys. All of them ranged from the ages of four to nine. They were scared at first but after some time they grew attached to Kagome and she grew attached to them. As they grew she taught them everything they needed to know and taught them the importance to love and protect. The Lords and Ladies voiced their confusion on this but she reassured them that this was important and to trust her. She never told them of her true fate, she never mentioned that in the end no matter if they win or lose that she will not be here to stand next to them after the battle. She couldn't bring herself to tell them yet, not until she knew for sure that her plan will work. That was why she brought the children of light here, because one of them is going to take her place.

It was also why she was spending so much time in her study, writing endlessly in her books about everything she knew that was to come, everything that would ensure their survival. Thankfully she was almost done, she was on the 12th and final book. Soon she will have to make the difficult decision on who will succeed her. She had two children in mind, of course they really weren't much of children anymore but never the less, the two teens had her worried. They were the strongest of the 12 but they weren't without their faults. Elizaveta was a dark haired beauty that Yuki had found in Russia. The little girl was eight when she was brought here and was now the age of 18. Elizaveta easily became one of the strongest and quite beautiful with her pitch black hair and dark grey eyes but her downfall was that she knew her strength all to well. She had lately become too aggressive in her pursuit of power, a lot of times picking on the other Mikos in a most callous way. Her biggest competition was Kagome's other choice, Reagan. Little Reagan was found off the coast of Ireland by Hikari and was now 16. She was a beauty in her own right as well with bright blond hair and emerald green eyes. Reagan's weakness was her meekness, she had potential to be very powerful but she was easily pushed over, always second guessing herself, which was why she was Elizaveta's favorite target.

A swift knock on her study door brought Kagome out of thought before she straightened herself and walked back inside. "Come in." As Kagome sat back down in the chair behind her desk, she waited for the person to enter her study. She watched as her Chinese Ambassador walked in the room and without hesitation the burly panda youkai bowed then sat down in a chair in front of her desk. Kagome sat back and studied the gentle youkai in front of her, it had been awhile since she had last seen Jin. She remembered the first time she met him all those years ago when she boarded his merchant boat before sailing away from Japan. A fond smile graced her lips before she decided to speak.

"How have you been Jin? It's been awhile." She watched as Jin nodded before he gave her a small smile back.

"Everything is going well, my Lady. How have you been?" Kagome hummed in slight amusement before giving him a small nod. "As well as it can be expected." With that said, Kagome let out a gentle flux of her power to summon one of her maids. Once the maid arrived at the door Kagome asked Jin. "Tea?" Kagome watched as Jin gave a nod before she nodded to the maid. Several minutes passed in silence as they waited, neither wanted to break the silence. When the maid came back with a tray that held their cups and a tea pot, Kagome motioned for her to set the tray down and gave the maid a nod in thanks before the maid left, closing the door behind her.

Kagome picked up the tea pot before she poured two cups, one for herself and the other for her guest. Handing one over to Jin, he gave a slight bow of his head in thanks before she picked up her own. Kagome took a sip before setting her cup of tea back down, then looked back up at Jin. It was time for some business. "How is Japan?" Jin gave a tired sigh before he too put his cup down.

"In trouble." Kagome leaned back in her chair then lifted her right leg and crossed it with her left as she waited for him to gather his thoughts. She knew that there would be very few reasons as to why Jin was here. He was suppose to wait for her arrival back in Japan. She was, until further notice, the Lady of Asia. When the World Council first came together she had split all the territories up between all the Lords. Lord Wanageeska would be the Lord over all the youkai of North America. Lord Acahuana would be the Lord over Central and South America. Lord Ragnvaldr would be the Lord over Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Lord Omari would be the Lord over Africa. Lord Durai would be the Lord over India and the Middle East countries. Lord Nazar would be the Lord over Russia. Lord Neptis would be the Lord of the 7 seas and finally that left Asia and Australia. Which there was no Lord for as of yet so Kagome decided to combine them.

After doing some investigating, she had learned that most of the youkai in Australia have been wiped out. Those that had survived were not powerful enough to be at a Daiyoukai level, so that left no Lord to take it over. With there being no Lord for Asia as of yet, it had been decided that she would take care of the well beings of all the Asian and Australian youkai until a Lord for Asia could be found, and Kagome already had a pretty good idea on who that was going to be. Actually there are four possible candidates but Kagome already knew who the strongest Lord was... And she almost dreaded it. While having Lord Sesshoumaru on her side during the up coming war would definitely help, but she knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get him on board. He was the most powerful youkai she had ever met and because of that he was going to be the most difficult to get to cooperate.

"What is wrong?" Kagome asked and Jin sighed. She watched as his lips turned down in a worried frown.

"It is... Odd, I suppose. In the 30 years that I have been there to lend my aid to the Japanese Lords, I noticed that there numbers have not decreased. When the curse had first reached my homeland, youkai started to perish after about 10 years. Slowly at first but then it rapidly started to increase. I was told by the other Lords that they started to noticed the curse effects about 50 years ago, so their numbers should be very few but they're not. They lose a couple here and there but not many have fallen to it, until now. Now they are losing youkai at a steady pace but I can not help but wonder why now after all this time?" Kagome frowned as well as she thought over his words. When she had first sent Jin to Japan, she was surprised by the numbers he reported back to her. Japan still had a large amount of youkai left roaming around. At first she thought that perhaps they hadn't fallen victim to the curse but then he told her that they were indeed cursed but it wasn't growing, it was just there... Like it was being held back by something. It was one of the reasons why she didn't rush over there to help the people. She had wanted Jin to find out how they were stopping it. No else has figure out how to cure this curse but her, but someone was stopping it some how. So she had told Jin to investigate and what he reported back had surprised her. A Miko, the Lords told him that a Miko had given them aid and while she wasn't able to cure it, she was able to slow the curse down. "The Miko..." Kagome whispered her thought out loud.

"I grew curious on this Miko and did some more investigating on her, what I found out was most perplexing." Jin continued and brought Kagome from her thoughts. "I found it odd, you see... There isn't very many of your kind that would help a youkai. I was even more surprised to learn that she is still alive, as a matter of fact, she has been around for as long as you have. But what's even more disturbing is that she isn't exactly alive either... She is actually dead but was brought back to the land of the living. The Lords seem to have an alliance of some sort with her. Apparently this Miko's mate is a hanyou, but not just any random hanyou. He is the half brother of one of the Lords." Jin watched as Kagome's whole body tensed up at the mention of this.

"Do you know of her my Lady?" Only one thought crossed her mind. 'Kikyo' And some how she had made an alliance with the other Lords. Kagome knew that this couldn't be a coincidence. She knew that the Dark Champion was a dark miko and now she learns of Kikyo oh so graciously offering the youkai Lords her aid... Not likely, Kikyo hated the youkai kind. Some of the puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place and things were making sense. Kikyo was the Dark Champion... She had to be. Either that or she was working with the Dark Champion. Which ever one it was, Kagome knew she needed to find out.

"What else did you learn of her?" Kagome asked and Jin looked at her worriedly. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Kagome anything other than calm and now her tense behavior was making him nervous.

"I learned that she and her mate had formed an alliance with Lord Sesshoumaru about 40 years ago. They showed up about 10 years after the youkai had been cursed. The Miko had told them that she knew how to slow down the curse and offered her aid, she also mentioned that she knew of the one who started the curse as well. She called her the Shikon Miko, apparently they had once been comrades in hunting down a spider hanyou and once they defeated him this miko betrayed them before taking off with this Shikon Jewel. She said that she used the jewel to place a curse on all youkai after her mate had chosen to be with her instead of the Shikon Miko. So lost in her own heartbreak, the once pure miko had turned dark. She said that in a fit of rage, the miko had destroyed 7 Japanese villages. So her and her group had hunted this miko down and killed her but unfortunately the curse didn't stop with her death. The Miko said she has been trying to find a way to cure this curse but hasn't been successful as of yet." Kagome clenched her fist as she listened to Jin retell what he had learned. If she wasn't sure before then she was definitely sure now... Kikyo was the Dark Champion. She didn't want to cure these youkai, she was just stalling... But for what?

"We were there, do you remember?" Jin's question snapped Kagome out of her raging thoughts and she tensed further. "Yes, I remember. How could I ever forget." Jin looked at Kagome suspiciously before he continued.

"I remember how everyone was in a panic and I was extremely nervous when you got on my boat, despite Saisei's reassurances. But when I seen you heal everyone in my village, my opinion of you changed. I mean, here you were, an enemy of my kind yet you kindly offered to heal us without asking for anything in return. How could you possibly be an enemy to us after that. We all knew that you didn't have to do this. Never once had I ever felt a slight bit of darkness in you but... That story, I couldn't help but connect some dots. What happened Lady Kagome?" Kagome let out an unsteady breath and slowly unclenched her hands. She knew eventually this day would come.

"75 years ago my group and I battled this spider hanyou named Naraku. A long story put short, we won but with a heavy price. We lost two members of our group, one of them being my son. So when she said I was heartbroken, she was correct but not for the reasons she told them. That night after the battle I over heard my group talking about stealing the jewel from me and using it for a selfish reason. I couldn't let that happen, it would have turned the jewel dark. So I ran... But no matter how far I ran it eventually didn't matter because they caught up to me. Before I could do anything, Kikyo drew an arrow and shot me... Which took my life." Kagome paused and Jin gave her a confused look. "But how are you still alive?"

"The jewel, I still had it in my hand when I died and it brought me back to life. The jewel sunk back into it's rightful place, my heart... And because of that my reiki tripled. I made a mistake and my powers grew out of control, I couldn't stop it and because of that 7 villages were destroyed. But believe me, I'm not the one that placed the curse." Jin nodded slowly in understanding. He knew she would have never hurt them out of hate but he had to make sure. He could feel all the hurt and sadness that surrounded her as she told him her story and he wished that there was something he could do to make it better but he knew that nothing ever would.

"Well, then this Kikyo isn't a friend to us then, am I right?" He watched as Kagome nodded.

"She is our worst enemy Jin... And it's time that we move in to stop her." Jin watched as Kagome stood before nodding and standing up as well. "Grab all the supplies that you need to take back to Japan. I will summon the World Council for a meeting at dawn. Once we have a plan laid out, we all shall leave together. Be prepared to leave in a weeks time." She watched as Jin gave her a nod in understanding.

"Go home and visit your mate and daughter Jin. It will be awhile before we are able to come back home." With that said Jin gave her a bow before taking his leave. Kagome sighed before looking out her window again. The time has come, it's time to go home.

* * *

The soft sound of clicking heels reached the ears of all the youkai Lords as Kagome approached the Council room that was located on the top floor of the temple of light. The hushed conversations immediately came to a stop once she entered the room and Kagome watched as all the Lords stood from there seats as she walked to hers. With a nod of her head, the Lords nodded back in respect before sitting back down. Now that everyone was here the meeting could begin.

"Good morning, my Lords." Kagome's soft voice called out in greeting and she gave them a smile as they greeted her in return. Looking around the large circular table, she saw that everyone was here and also took notice that her 7 Guardians were standing behind the Lords around the table as well. She notice that all of them had dressed in their black cloaks that were similar to hers and nodded in approval.

Not long after they started to build the city, one of Lady Astrid's Seamstresses made all her Guardians a dark cloak like hers to wear and on the back of the cloaks, she stitched Kagome's sigil on it. The design was beautifully done and she actually had Lady Astrid to thank for that. Kagome would have been content with just the Shikon jewel as her sigil but Lady Astrid insisted on it having a little more to the design. Since Lady Astrid didn't know all that much on Japanese culture, she decided to put a little bit of Norse design into it. She had always known that Kagome was going to be the key factor in keeping them all together so she drew out the Yggdrasil Tree in a tribal design in white with the roots of the tree wrapped around the pink Shikon Jewel. From what Kagome understood, the Yggdrasil tree was what connected all 9 realms together and Astrid told her that it fit Kagome in a sense that she was the one connecting all the youkai lords and brought them all together for a greater purpose. Kagome was touched by Astrid's kind gift and now wore her symbol with pride. She really couldn't have accomplished so much without the help of Lady Astrid, Lord Ragnvaldr, and Lady Freyja. She was thankful to all of them, as well as all the other Lords.

Her Guardians weren't the only ones that wore her sigil though, her Holy Shields did as well. 40 years ago Lord Ragnvaldr had come up with an idea after he had been blessed by Kagome and all the Lords had finally gotten together. This idea of his consisted of tributes. Each Lord was to pick 25 of his strongest warriors to be blessed by Kagome, and these 25 would create an elite force who was dedicated in protecting the High Priestess and they were to stand by her side in the up coming war. Since regular youkai alone couldn't kill the Jinzu, those blessed by her could since they can mix her holy light with there own youki. They were known as the Holy Shields. To Ragnvaldr it was a sign of absolute trust and loyalty to her and also a thanks to all that she has done. The other Lords soon agreed and they began to pick out their top chosen to stand by her side.

Lord Ragnvaldr was also kind enough to supply the Holy Shields with dragon glass armor and weaponry. All 175 of them were dressed in a onyx black cuirass that covered the chest and back. Followed with a black gorget that covered the neck, faulds that cover the hip area, cuisse that covered the upper thighs, and greaves that covered the lower legs starting from the knees and ending at the boots. Spaulders covered their shoulders and upper arms, while the vambrace covered their forearms. They all wore black capes with her sigil on the back, and it connected to the back of their spaulders and flowed all the way down, stopping an inch from the ground. They wore black battle suits made out of dragon hide to protect any open spots that were not covered by the armor. Their helmets were uniquely made to fit each soldier. The helmets were rounded at the top and slightly fanned out towards the end before curving under, giving the helmets an almost hood like appearance. The mask of the helmet could be lifted up to make it easier for the warrior to put it on and it looked like a black porcelain mask with a pink diamond shaped gem on the forehead to represent a Shikon shard. Each mask was specificly made to fit the warrior's face. At the top of the helmet was a hole where the warrior could thread their long ponytails through so that it wouldn't be so hot or uncomfortable inside the helmet. The only masks that were different were the helmets of the 7 Holy Shield Generals. Each one was different and the made to look like the face of their true form. Scandinavia was that of a dragon, North America was a fox, South America was a jaguar, Middle East was a tiger, Africa was a rhino, Russia was a wolf, and the 7 seas was an octopus. The helmets showed that these youkai were of the highest rank and also made it easier for Kagome to spot them in the battlefield.

Kagome took a deep breath and glanced around the table. They all had much to discuss today and she knew that it would be well past noon before this meeting was done. But before they talked about the up coming trip, she wanted to get all the other necessities out of the way first.

"Lady Kagome, what have we been called here for? We weren't expecting our next meeting for another two months." Lord Durai asked, his voice giving away his they only had a council meeting like this once a year to discuss the welfare of all the people and to renew all trading alliances between the Lords.

Kagome let out a small sigh before answering his question. "We have much to discuss today."

For now, since everyone was currently under the same barrier, each lord had a certain trade commodity that they were responsible for and what brought them their main income for their empire. Kagome had explain that until it was safe enough for the Lords and their people to go back home, they would have to split up certain trades to bring in income to support everyone here. New trading alliances would be formed after everyone was safely back home and they would be able to manage their own resources. With everything that she knew of the things to come, Kagome decided to share her knowledge of the future to the 7 Lords. She expressed the importance of this knowledge and how important it was that it was kept between only them. So when Kagome set up all the laws the Lords listened and watched as she molded their city into something completely different but none the less better than what they ever had hoped to expect.

Since they were currently in Russia, all natural resources were Lord Nazar's to trade. His biggest trade was raw mineral that could be mined on his land. He mostly just traded iron and coal but he also made a trade deal with Lord Acahuana, giving the Incan Lord rights to trade lumber from his land as long as he was reimbursed with lumber from South America when they all went back home.

Lord Wanageeska's trade was in medicine, even though youkai didn't fall to common illnesses, humans did. His people grew all the herbs that they needed and with the help of a very talented fox that specialized in illusions and magic, they made many healing potions to sell to the humans. It was also because of this fox that Kagome was able to perfect a simple illusion charm that helped conceal all the youkai trader's demonic traits so they may go into human settlements to sell their goods.

Lord Omari's trade was in jewels and precious stones. He too had made a trade deal with Lord Nazar to mined for precious stones. Kagome had helped the two lords come to a deal, Lord Nazar would allow Lord Omari to mine Russia's Alexandrite, Jade, Emeralds, Diamonds, and Amethysts and in return Lord Omari will reimburse him by giving him a share of Africa's Aquamarines, Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds.

Lord Durai's main trade was cloth and clothing. He had several talented seamstresses that have learned to make all different kinds of clothing from multiple different cultures, some even mixing different styles that made them very unique and a big hit among the people in the city as well as the outside settlements.

Lord Ragnvaldr's trade was in armor and weaponry. He supplied their army with the dragon glass armor and weapons that his dragon blacksmiths had perfected thousands of years ago but also had them make some out of other natural materials to sell to the human settlements.

Since Lord Neptis was the Lord of the 7 seas, his trade was the ocean resources but his biggest profit was in sea food and salt. Kagome had informed the Lord that the red king crab, the bluefin tuna, shrimp, oysters, lobsters, and caviar will be big sellers. She also asked to try to keep whale meat to a minimum because humans will over hunt them and make most whales endangered. Lord Neptis agreed since Kagome was informing him of other high selling seafood that more than make up the loss of profit.

Since Kagome was the High Priestess and there for responsible for the well being of everyone under her barrier, she was trusted with their most important trade, the food they grew and the livestock they raised. 40 years ago, after Kagome did some digging through all the spells in Midoriko's library, she came across a spell known as the weather crystals. Which told her that if she took a medium to large quart crystal and mediated on it, while focusing on a certain element, then that crystal could be turned into a natural source of that element. The spell went further to explain that if you bound a certain combination of these element crystals together then they could create certain weather conditions. For example, if Kagome took a water crystal, a wind crystal, and a lightning crystal, then bound them together she could create the perfect storm. While Kagome had no intention of creating any storms, she got another idea on what she could do with these crystals. Russia's land could only grow certain foods and the weather was always cold because of the location being so far up North, so Kagome decided to use these crystals to manipulate the weather under her barrier. She mediated on these crystals for months to make sure they were strong enough to last long after she was gone.

Outside the city she placed other barriers to create certain conditions which could let other food sources grow naturally even though they normally wouldn't be able to grow here. So they had apples, oranges, grapes, cherries, peaches, strawberries, peppers, carrots, leeks, rice, onions, potatoes, wheat, corn, and much more. While youkai didn't care much for human food they did eat it form time to time, but mostly they sold the food to human settlements. The livestock they had was what feed most of the youkai here. They raised cattle, boar, goats, sheep, deer, buffalo, horses, moose and let them roam in the wild inside the barrier. The income that she got was then split into two, one half she saved back for the Asian Empire and the other half was the Holy Temple's funds which was used to help the people in the city.

Kagome used that money to set up schools and invested in businesses to help them get started. With there being so many different cultures coming together, Kagome made it mandatory for everyone to get or further their education. Primarily learning different languages so everyone could communicate with each other. Since she knew that English would be used worldwide in the future, she decided to start there. Then others would have a choice in what other languages they wanted to learn. They would also be required to learn mathematics and other subjects as well. She even made the Lords and her Holy Shields learn not only English but all the other languages too. She explained that it was important to learn all this so they could not only understand each other but also understand the people under their care, especially since Kagome had given the Lords more countries to look after.

Hours passed quickly as they discussed and settled all their trading deals. It was around noon when Kagome had their meals brought to them as they took a lunch break. There was only one thing left to discuss and that was their upcoming journey to Japan. Kagome used her ivory chopsticks to pick up a piece of cubed meat from her plate and brought it to her lips. She delicately chewed the small piece as she mulled over on how she was going to proceed. She knew she would have much to explain, as well as confess. Her past sins will have to be brought to light and if she was honest with herself, she wasn't sure how the Lords were going to take it. She told the others very little of her past life in Japan. Really the only ones that knew much about her past was the royal Scandinavian family and Lord Jin. Lord Jin and Lady Astrid were the only ones that knew of her greatest secret, other than the secret of her upcoming death of course, which only her Guardians were aware of.

Kagome set down her chopsticks and picked up her glass of wine. She took a small sip, savoring the taste as she looked around the large table at all the Lords. She could tell by their relaxed behavior that they were enjoying themselves as they chatted among each other. She almost wished to delay it, to hold off on leaving their safe haven so that they all could enjoy this peace and safety a little while longer. But unfortunately she knew that this trip couldn't be put on hold any longer, they still weren't complete. Kagome glanced to her right and stared at the empty seat next to her. The Asian throne needed to be filled, and about 50,000 youkai that needed her help.

Kagome glanced around the table once more and noticed that everyone seemed to be done with their meals, so she motioned to the maids to take their plates away. Picking up a small cloth, she lightly wiped her mouth then cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. Once everyone was quiet and looking her way, she took a deep breath before she began to speak.

"We have one last thing to discuss today before we leave." Kagome looked towards the set of double doors and motion for Byggvir, who had gain the honor of becoming one of the 7 Holy Shields Generals, to bring in Lord Jin. Everyone turned and watched as the panda youkai made his way to the table before bowing to the Overlords and the High Priestess. "My Lords, My Lady." His deep voice greeted softly before he stood straight once more and waited for Kagome to continue.

"The time has come for us to find and choose a Overlord for the Asian Throne." Kagome announced out loud, and the Lords gave a quick murmur of agreement.

"How long will you and your Guardians be gone for High Priestess?" Lord Acahuana asked what he knew was on everyone's mind and the other Lords looked at her curiously.

"We ALL will be gone until the final battle is over." Silence over took the room. Kagome watched as the 7 Lords looked at her with startlement.

"All of us, My Lady?" Lord Neptis asked, a little confused. They of course had planned to help with the upcoming battle but he wasn't for sure what they could do as far as the last Lord was concerned.

"Yes, all of us, Lord Neptis." Kagome said with a nod. "The final battle will more than likely take place in Japan. I would prefer it to be away from our city as much as possible." She watched as the Lords agreed as far as the battle being away from their family and subjects.

"While we do agree with your decision on the placement of the final battle, This Omari has to ask, who will be watching over the city?" Lord Omari voiced with concern.

"Let us not forget about our army as well... We will need the full force of our soldiers for this battle but can we really risk taking them so far from our safe haven? If the Jinzu attack, we will be too far away to stop it in time." Lord Durai chipped in his concern as well. Leaving unsettled him greatly for the simple fact that his mate had just gave birth to twin cubs. He wanted them to have the utmost protection. Kagome held up her hand to stop any further questions so she could further explain.

"Our people will be fine, even if the Jinzu attack they will not make it past my barrier. Let's not forget that the Children of Light will be here to help keep the barrier strong." Kagome told them calmly.

"Are they ready for such a task? They are still young and they have no battle experience. Holding up a barrier as large as this has to be an exhausting task." Lord Wanageeska wisely chimed in and Kagome watched as the others agreed.

"They are more than capable of holding the barrier and they will not be alone. They will be surrounded by those that do have battle experience and they can guide them as needed." Kagome said firmly, making sure to express her full confidence in her wards.

"As far as who will take charge of running the city, that answer is easy, your mates will." Kagome continued but then paused, she knew this would bring about more concerns for some of the Lords, mainly two.

"Not all of us have mates, so who will watch after those empires?" Lord Nazar asked gruffly, the young wolf didn't look too happy and Kagome could tell he was ready to get out of this room. With him being the youngest of the Lords, he still hasn't had much practice with working his patience.

"Your sister, Lady Nadya, will watch over the Siberian Throne in your place. As for the Native Throne, Lady Dyani is very much capable of taking care of her people." Kagome said before looking over at Lord Wanageeska. She watched as he gave a nod in agreement, telling her that he too believed his daughter to be ready for the task. Kagome looked at each Lord to see if they had any further concerns about the matter and was happy to see none.

"It is decided then... Lady Freyja will watch over the Scandinavian Throne, Lady Amai will watch over the African Throne, Lady Esha will watch over the Indian Throne, Lady Nadya will watch over the Siberian Throne, Lady Cavillaca will watch over the Amazonian Throne, Lady Dyani will watch over the Native Throne, Lady Rayne will watch over the Oceanian Throne, and finally Lady Astrid will watch over the Asian Throne until a Lord and Lady can be decided on. Lady Astrid will also be guiding the Children of Light in my absence." Kagome announced out loud and waited to see if there was anything further that the Lords wanted to know or add.

"This One will let Lady Mother know of this decision." Lord Ragnvaldr told Kagome and she nodded her thanks.

"Please discuss all of this with the Ladies tonight and prepare them for whatever you deem necessary. This One plans to leave in a weeks time, so be sure to manage all of your affairs before then." Kagome took a moment to sip some wine before she breached the next matter at hand, now she had to voice her concerns about the Lords they were leaving to meet.

"There are four Japanese Lords left in Japan. Lord Jin is here to give us some insight about these four Daiyoukai since he has been in their company for the last 30 years." Kagome said as she motioned towards the panda youkai. The 7 Lords looked over to the minor Lord, some of them recognized him but they hadn't seen him for many years, now they knew where he has been.

"What can you tell us about these Lords, Lord Jin?" Lord Ragnvaldr asked curiously and watched as the panda shifted nervously. The weight of the stares from the 7 Daiyoukai in front of him was extremely intimidating.

"What is it that my Lords would like to know first?" He asked as he tried to calm himself, it has been a long time since he had been surrounded by so much power.

"How strong are they?" Lord Nazar blurted out with a huff. An amused smile touched Kagome's lips as she glanced over at the wolf Lord, of course that would be his first question.

"Well, This One would have to say that Lord Ryuunosuke is close in strength with Lord Ragnvaldr, he too is a dragon Daiyoukai. Lord Shin is at the same strength as Lord Omari and Lord Daichi would be close to strength with Lord Acahuana." Lord Jin said after some thought as he studied the Lords in front of him.

"What of the fourth Lord? Who is he comparable to?" Lord Durai asked, not exactly for sure if the Lord forgot about the last one or not, so he reminded him. Lord Jin didn't forget though, he just couldn't decide who to compare the final Lord to.

"Lord Sesshoumaru is comparable to no one." Kagome's soft voice rang out and the Lords looked back to her. "For he IS the strongest of your kind." She watched as the Lords eyes widened a little bit. Lord Ragnvaldr was the strongest in the room but not by much, all the Lord were pretty close in strength.

"How much stronger?" Lord Nazar asked in disbelief, the Lord couldn't possible be that much stronger.

"Twice the strength of Lord Ragnvaldr." Lord Jin chimed in after some thought but Kagome shook her head no.

"He's Stronger, I would say three time his strength. He hides his yoki very well and This One has seen him close to full strength in battle before." Kagome continued as Jin and herself tried to explain accurately.

"It is more than likely that he will be the one to take the Asian Throne but it will be difficult to get him to join us, he is very much accustomed to doing thing his own way. How we run things will be difficult for him to adjust to." Kagome told them with a sigh. It also didn't help that he would want her head as soon as she showed up either. It wasn't going to be easy but Kagome knew she had to try, but first, she will have to come clean about her past.

"Surely he will join forces with us, especially once you heal everyone." Lord Acahuana said out loud, as if it were that simple but Kagome knew differently.

"He would be a fool to turn this position down, he would be gaining more then what he currently has. That should entice him enough to our side." Lord Wanageeska added and the other Lords nodded in agreement.

"Or if none of that works, we could always make a deal... Lady Kagome will heal his people and in return he is to join forces with us to take down this dark army as payment." Lord Ragnvaldr added his idea into the mix but Kagome quickly shook her head and held up her hand to silence everyone.

"For one, wither he joins or not, everyone there will be healed. I will not hold that over anyone's head. The other two ideas won't work either. He is the strongest of your kind, if he wanted true world conquest, he could every well take it on his own and he won't feel obligated to join us if I heal everyone... Especially if I am the one doing the healing, if anything, he would take it as I would owe HIM to do so. Which I do, actually... I owe all of them that." Kagome said sadly as she thought back to the lives she destroyed. The Lords looked at her completely confused and Kagome sighed.

"I need all of you to understand somethings, When I first came here I had no training what so ever. That being said, I wasn't very powerful at the time, I could barely control my reiki." Kagome started and she began to tell the Lords about her quest in finding the Shikon shards. Telling them about her old group of friends and everything important that lead up to the final battle, as well as the betrayal afterwards and the cause of her death. The Lords listened attentively as she spoke of her past and were surprised and angered by some of the things she went through.

"You see, these youkai saw me at my weakest, especially Lord Sesshoumaru. When I show up, he is not going to willing follow us and he isn't going to take anyone here as a threat to him personally, so he won't be intimidated to join. If anything, he is going to want my head." Kagome looked up and saw that they were taken back by what she had said.

"Why would this Lord Sesshoumaru want your head, Lady Kagome?" Lord Durai asked, clearly appalled.

"You know that none of us are going to let that happen to you, right?" This time it was Lord Nazar that growled out, angry at the mere thought of such a thing. Of course, he would be considering he was every much trying to woo Kagome into becoming his mate. Which was making things a little more difficult for her since she knew nothing would come of it. She liked Lord Nazar but Kagome had given up any hope for love after she found out her true fate. Plus, she really only looked at Nazar as a good friend... And he reminded her too much of Kouga. Perhaps it was a wolf thing.

"I know, and I appreciate all of your support but there is something all of you need to know before we go any further. When I was brought back to life I found out that during my human life most of my power had been sealed. My human body couldn't handle all of my true power all at once, at least not without the Shikon Jewel inside me. The only way I am keeping it all under control now is with the help of my Guardians, their power helps in keeping mine under control in a way. I didn't know this at the very beginning of my new journey and because I didn't take heed to my teacher's warning I made a foolish mistake. I had taken that seal off and my powers grew out of control, and because of that 463 youkai died. It is because of this that the Lords are going to want my death." Kagome confessed sadly and kept her eyes focused on the table in front of her, she really didn't want to look up and see their reaction to this. So it came to a surprise to her when Lord Omari spoke up next.

"This is what you fear, Lady Kagome? Do you think we are going to just turn our backs now after everything you have done? You may have killed 463 demons but you saved over a 100,000 more in return. I think we would all agree that we know you well enough to know that you would have never had done it purposely." Lord Omari finished and Kagome let out an almost silent sob. She took a shuddering breath as she tried to keep her emotions together, the guilt that she held onto for so long has suddenly become so hard to control.

"There is not one person here that hasn't lost control before, Lady Kagome, and hasn't had any casualties." Lord Ragnvaldr said to her and the others agreed out loud.

"This One once sunk a human island before..." Kagome paused and looked over at Lord Neptis in confusion. "I believe the human's called it Atlantis, or something close to that." Kagome's eyes widened as she gaped at him.

"You sunk an island!? The worst damage This One has done was kill 30 people in a blood lust but YOU sunk an ISLAND?!" Lord Nazar sarcastically questioned and Lord Neptis gave a small shrug.

"What? Not purposely of course. Rayne had kicked This One out of his OWN castle at the time. Naturally This One wasn't too happy and in anger, This One might have accidentally sunk an island." Lord Neptis finished with another shrug and Kagome couldn't help herself, she laughed. The destruction of Atlantis wasn't by any means funny but the absurdity of it all was, and maybe her over emotional state might have played into that as well. After a few minutes she was able to get a hold of herself and she gave out a small sniff.

"So that's what happened to it. You know, we humans were wondering where that island went." Kagome said with a small chuckle and Lord Neptis blushed before mumbling. "This One figured you humans wouldn't have noticed." Kagome chuckled again as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"So, what exactly, is our plan High Priestess?" Lord Acahuana asked, trying to get them all back to the matter at hand. Kagome sniffed again, trying to get herself back together and under control. After a minute of thought, she answered.

"I turn myself in." The Lords all looked at each other before giving Kagome looks of confusion, they hoped she would elaborate.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 11**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed the Chapter. Until next time! :D

-PEACH


	12. A Soul Going Home

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews.

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Kazenosasayaki- Guardian of Wind/ Trial of Truth (Eagle)

*Byggvir (Pronunciation: Big-veer)- Prince of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Jarl Ragnvaldr (Pronunciation: Rag-val-dur)- Lord of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Lord Durai- Lord of India (Bengal Tiger)

*Lord Nazar- Lord of Russia (Wolf)

*Lord Omari- Lord of Africa (Lion)

*Lord Acahuana- Lord of South America (Snake)

*Lord Wanageeska- Lord of North America (Fox)

*Lord Neptis- Lord of the 7 Seas (Water Elemental)

*Lord Jin- Chinese Ambassador (Panda)

*Lord Ryuunosuke- Lord of Northern Japan (Dragon)

*Lord Shin- Lord of Eastern Japan (Bear)

*Lord Daichi- Lord of Southern Japan (Tiger)

*Ashanti- The Shapeshifter General of Akuma. One of Four dark Generals. She is the High General of Akuma's Army and is helping the Dark Champion. (Cobra Youkai)

*Akuma- The dark God. He is based off the god known as Yama or sometimes Enma depending on the culture, he is the god that judges the dead.

*Jinzu- The souls of the Damned.

* * *

 _ **Recap of Chapter 11:**_ _No Recap!_

* * *

 **Chapter 12: A Soul Going Home**

* * *

A month had passed since Kagome had her meeting with the Lords of the world. Now they all walked through the halls of the Northern citadel which was on the large island of Hokkaido. The palace had long been abandoned. Lord Jin had informed them that about 5 years ago all the youkai Lords and their subjects had moved to the Western citadel since it was the safest place for them to be. The Eastern and Southern citadels have also been abandoned until the end of the war. Lord Jin went further to tell them about the on going war the Japanese youkai were currently fighting with the local Monks and Mikos. Since the youkai here were still suffering from the curse, the holy army has been slowly but surely over powering the youkai race.

So Kagome had quickly decided to make the Northern citadel their home base until further notice. The news of this war disturbed her, her own kind was attacking those who she was trying to save... But she couldn't help but wonder if this war was somehow connected to the war she was fighting in. It was something she was going to have to see for herself, if not then perhaps these Monks and Mikos could be reasoned with.

The palace was dusty and cold but it would serve their purpose for the time being. Right now, the only youkai with her were the 8 Lords, her 7 Guardians, and the 175 Holy Shield soldiers. The rest of their army was still back home waiting for a go ahead on when they would leave to join the fight. Kagome thought it would be best to wait before bringing the rest of their army, they needed to see what exactly was going on in Japan first and then go from there.

Kagome was currently in Lord Ryuunosuke's study trying to clean and straighten up the place. Her Holy Shields were unloading the four ships of all their supplies and bringing it into the Northern Shiro. When they had first arrived it was like walking through a ghost town. There was no sign of life what so ever, not even any wildlife could be found which disturbed Kagome greatly. Lord Jin had warned them prior about this though. Japan was suffering greatly, especially the youkai population. While humans were suffering as well, it wasn't as much as the youkai. Youkai depended on the wildlife for their meat, but since most plant life around was slowly dying, the wildlife were too. What wildlife was left, had moved to where their food source was, which was also where most of the holy army had made their base at. It was too risky for the youkai to travel there to hunt. That was why Kagome had regularly sent cattle and meat that had been preserved with salt. Most youkai didn't like the taste of the preserved meat but it was enough to keep them alive and going.

It was this suffering that had also started the war between the youkai and humans. Once the wildlife started to move or die out it caused a lot of lower youkai to find another source of food, which was the local humans. The attacks escalated rapidly and before the youkai lords could stop the problem to keep the peace, the humans took matters into their own hands. Monks and Mikos from all over Japan had banded together and started to fight back, except they decided that they where going to hunt down every youkai no matter if they were evil or not. They believed that if they got rid of all the youkai then their land would be healed but what they didn't realize was that it wasn't the youkai fault for the lands suffering... It was Akuma. The heavy aura of the dark gods army had been slowly but surely overpowering the purity that had once blessed this place. Slowly all the life and greenery that made Japan so vibrant had wilted in the dark presence that cursed this land. Others might not feel or understand what it was they were feeling but Kagome did... She knew this darkness better than anyone else and she intends to stop it at all costs.

The night before Kagome had sat down and went through all of Lord Ryuunosuke's reports that were in his study. A large part of her felt guilty that she hadn't come here sooner, all the suffering that everyone had went through over the years brought her to silent tears. Maybe if she had come here sooner then she could have saved so many more. But she knew it was too late to bring anyone that lost their life back, but she did make a silent promise to herself that now that she was here, no one else was going to suffer like this anymore. She will do everything she can to shield the rest from this unfortunate fate.

A knock at the door snapped Kagome out of her thoughts and she glanced up to look at the door. "Come in." She watched as her 7 Guardians and the 8 Lords walked into the study. She stood up as she saw Saisei carrying a large 6 foot mirror that was framed in wooden trim under his arm as he stepped past the others to approach her.

"Is it finished?" Kagome watched as Saisei nodded his head before she motioned him to place it on top of the desk.

"It just needs your final touches before it's complete." Nisshoku told her and Kagome nodded her understanding. Everyone watched as Kagome withdrew a small dagger that she kept secure on the right side of her boot and placed the blade across the palm of her hand. Putting slight pressure down on the blade, she made a small slice across the tender flesh. She silently watched as her blood pooled in the palm of her hand before she gently held it over the right upper corner of the mirror's wooden frame. Everyone then watched as her blood slowly dripped from her palm down onto the mirror and once it made contact the symbols that were carved on the wood began to glow a bright blue. Kagome waited as her blood slowly traveled from one corner to the next until whole frame was glowing blue. She then pulled her hand back and grabbed a cloth the wipe the blood off her hand, taking a small note that her cut had already healed.

"Now what exactly does this do to the mirror? This One does not understand how this mirror is going to get us into the Western Citadel undetected." Lord Nazar asked in confusion as he stepped closer to the mirror and looked at his own reflection and Kagome smirked.

"I shall show you." She said with a small smile as she picked up the heavy mirror and set it up against the wall behind her. Kagome then placed her right hand on the wooden frame and whispered a small chant. The mirror glowed a bright blue as well as another mirror that had been placed on the opposite side of the room before hand. Once the glow faded from both mirrors, Kagome noticed that the symbols slowly disappeared from the frame and she knew it was complete.

Kagome made a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure the others were watching before she turned back to the mirror. She took a quick look at her own reflection before she held out her hand, palm facing the mirror and started to move forward. The moment her hand touched the mirror, the surface rippled like it would when you touched water and slowly her hand started to sink through it. Everyone watched in silence as Kagome placed her hand on the mirror and slowly she started to disappear into it. Out of the corner of their eye, they noticed movement on the other side of the room and watched as Kagome emerged through the other mirror. A smile crossed her lips as she glanced over at the others, showing them that she was pleased with the results of her enchanted mirror and walked over to the table that held a large map of Japan. The Lords and her Guardians noticed this and followed behind her. Kagome waited until everyone was around the large table before speaking again.

"One mirror will stay here but the other one we will place here, in the Western Citadel." The lords looked down at where her finger was placed on the map and nodded, it didn't escape anyone's notice at how far they were from the citadel. "Since you all have a connection to me, the mirror will work for you as well but if someone else tries to use it, it will be nothing but a regular mirror to them."

"How are we going to get the mirror inside the Western Shiro?" Lord Wanageeska asked after a moment of silence.

"3 days from now there will be a hunting party leaving the Shiro to try and find any game they can to bring back. Since the only place they can really hunt is in the Eastern lands, the party will head there and will be around 20 youkai in size. They hunt for about week before going back and they typically have a large cart with them that they keep at their chosen camp site. My spies tell me that they plan to set their camp here." Everyone looked down at the map again as Kagome pointed to a spot on the border of the West and East.

"This is a normal camp site for them, they always camp on the West side of the border then hunt on the East. So far the Holy army, as the youkai here have started to call them, they will not cross the border for some reason. They always hunt at night and they always keep about 5 soldiers at camp at all times." Kagome paused and looked around the table for a moment and noticed that so far no one had a problem with her plan yet.

"I will be taking Nisshoku, Saisei, and Hikari with me and we will infiltrate the camp site. I have a spell that will allow Nisshoku and Saisei to impersonate two of these guards. Once that is done, Hikari will be bringing those two guards back here. I expect them to be taken care of while they are here but make sure that they do not leave. They can not be aloud to go back to the Western citadel until an alliance has been made. Once Saisei and Nisshoku's illusion spell is in place, they will bring me into camp under the notion of being a captive with information." Kagome was about to continue further with her plan but Lord Ragnvaldr cut in, quickly shaking his head.

"No... There has to be a different way. This one is not agreeing to you being held as a prisoner. Especially since the dark champion is on the other side of that barrier." The dragon Lord growled out sternly. Kagome looked around and watched as the other Lords agreed before she sighed.

"This one agrees, youkai are vicious when it comes to extracting information from those that are their would torture you High Priestess... This one can not agree to let you go through with this." Lord Omari softly expressed to her to convey his worries.

"We should just storm the place. As a group, we are strong enough to take down that barrier. This one thinks we should use force and make them listen. We tell them that Lady Kagome can heal them and that we can put a stop to this holy army that threatens them. Lady Kagome can also help with healing the land to bring back the game, so starvation will no longer be a problem. They would be idiots to refuse our help... And in return for all this they can join us to defeat the dark champion and Akuma." Lord Nazar said as if it was the simplest thing in the world and Kagome rolled her eyes at the wolf.

"Lord Nazar, we can not storm the place, that would create panic and mistrust. If we go in there with full force it will scare the people. They already don't trust anyone with spiritual power as it is and that will automatically put me in the enemy category. I have to talk to them but I can't do it in a way that would be threatening. The Lords, especially Lord Sesshoumaru, are not going to take my presence well. Our only hope to sway them is through the nobles and common class youkai. If we sway them to our side, then the Lords will have no choice but to follow. A Lord is only as powerful as those who decide to back them. If their people leave then they will only be Lords over themselves." Kagome straightened herself and sighed. "So that means using force is out of the question." Kagome finished and watched the Lords silently, waiting for anyone to disagree with her. Deep down Kagome knew that this was the best way to go about this, she just needed them to trust her on this.

"Lady Kagome, Youkai follow power. We follow those that are the strongest, not the kindest. Kindness will make you look weak." Lord Acahuana said out loud to try and make her understand, and hopefully change her mind. But he already knew that once she put her mind to something then that was what she was going to do.

Kagome sighed and rubbed the back of her neck before replying. "That maybe true, but kindness can go a long way, especially at a time like this. Yes, I know that I am going to have to show a great deal of power to earn their respect and fellowship, BUT I don't want them to just follow me out of fear alone. That can lead to chaos and rebellion, and we don't need that right now. The common people want safety, they want to be able to eat every night, and be able to provide for themselves and their young. They don't want to have to worry over wither they are going live or die tomorrow, and if they die then who will take care of their families. We can provide everything they need for them, but making them fear us is not the way to show them that." The Lords sighed and all looked at each other to see what the others were thinking.

"I can handle any amount of torture they throw at me... It's not like they can kill me." Kagome continued, hoping they will finally relent and agree with her plan.

"And if the Dark Champion gets a hold of you when you have know one there to help you?" This time it was Lord Durai that asked, giving the High Priestess a small frown to show his displeasure. He hated when she got stubborn like this.

"She will not even know I am there. I'll keep my aura hidden at all costs. Plus, Saisei and Nisshoku will be there to back me up." Kagome said as she looked over at the Tiger Lord, watching him as he sighed before shaking his head. She knew that they didn't like that she was doing this but in the end, it was her call not theirs.

"Fine, but if we don't see or hear from you after a week then we are storming the place to come find you." Lord Neptis finally spoke up and looked around at the others to see if they would agree to that. One by one all the other Lords nodded their head, they still didn't like the idea but they could compromise with that.

"Fine, I can agree to that." Kagome sighed out in relief, finally happy that she didn't have to argue about her plan anymore. Leaning back forward, she continued to tell the others about the plan when they finally got in the Shiro. Saisei was to try and find any information on the Dark Champion and Ashanti's where about or plans, and Nisshoku was going to look for and get the final book, as well as find a place to put the mirror. Once Kagome got the final Guardian, she will then talk to the other Lords and hopefully form an alliance with them. If the plan goes as it should, then she will send word to them and they can join up with her at the citadel. If they don't agree, then they will escape and come back to the North, where they will eventually come up with a new plan.

* * *

Kagome watched over the youkai encampment from the top of a cliff, silently enjoying the wind that whipped around her as it played with her hair and the fabric of the miko garb she was dressed in. The youkai soldiers mulled about preparing for their departure to hunt. Four days have passed since she left the Northern Citadel and herself along with Saisei, Hikari and Nisshoku had just found the hunting party they had been looking for. Kagome's eyes quickly scanned the large valley and silently counted all the youkai. Twenty, just like her report had said and that pleased her greatly, so far so good. The last thing she wanted was some unexpected surprises. She heard a soft crunching sound from behind her but didn't look back to see who it was, deciding instead to wait for him to speak.

Saisei took notice right away that Kagome had taken off her enchanted cloth from around her eyes so she could watch over the camp down below and decided to stop where he was. He knew that he couldn't get to close to her with it off or else she will be pulled into his memories, so he made sure to keep his distance. All four of them had to keep their auras pulled tight to themselves to make sure they went undetected and because of that, Kagome couldn't use her reiki to see her surroundings like she normally would. Shaking himself out of thought, Saisei cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Kagome, we are about ready to move forward and infiltrate the camp. Nisshoku and I have found two western soldiers patrolling the north side of the camp. They would be most suited for our purpose." Saisei said with a sigh and waited for her go ahead. Honestly, he didn't like the thought of having to drag her into a camp full of hostile youkai. It was hard to predict how they would take her presence, but if he had to guess then it wouldn't be good.

"Where is Nisshoku?" Kagome calmly asked as she continued to watch the soldiers down below.

"I am here little one." Nisshoku's said as he walked up from behind Saisei. Saisei quickly brought his hand out to stop Nisshoku from advancing. Nisshoku glanced over at him and noticed Saisei quickly shaking his head no before pointing to his eyes then pointed to Kagome. Nisshoku glanced over at her before nodding his understanding, realizing her cloth was off.

"And Hikari?" She whispered before looking up at the horizon, the sun was getting ready to set... It was almost time. As soon as the hunting party left, they would make their move.

"She is patrolling around the outer perimeter-" Nisshoku was cut off as the woman in question came running into sight.

"Kagome, the humans are advancing. They found the youkai campsite." Hikari spoke urgently as she looked over at the three. "What do you want us to do?" Kagome whipped her head around to glance at Hikari before quickly looking back out over the cliff.

"How many? How close are they?" Kagome asked as she step forward, stopping at the edge before crouching down on one knee to scan the forest below.

"Close to fifty, they are about half a mile from camp but they are advancing quickly." Hikari said as she walked up to the cliff but she made sure to keep a fair distance from Kagome. "They are advancing from over there." Kagome glanced out of the corner of her eye to see where Hikari was pointing and nodded.

"All Reiki wielders?" Kagome continued as she tried to formulate a plan. "Yes... their is enough of them to take out the hunting party. I don't know how well the youkai down there will do against them." Hikari voiced out in worry and Kagome nodded in agreement. The Japanese youkai were weaker than she originally thought. Between the curse and starvation, it left them incredibly vulnerable. She was surprised that this many youkai remained.

"What would you like to do Kagome?" Saisei asked as both himself and Nisshoku walked up to stand on the other side of Hikari.

Kagome didn't say anything for a couple of minutes as she began to gather her powers. One hand glowed red as she started to bring forth heat and the other began to glow white as she summoned the cold. Her Guardian took notice as Kagome began to breathe out small puffs of mist as she began to mix the two. Slowly everything around them began to fog over. Kagome hoped that this will at least hinder the humans advancement and give the youkai below some what of a chance to get away. Watching down below she noticed that none of them were aware that the Reiki wielders were coming, they haven't detected them yet. This only proved to Kagome how weak the youkai in general have become. They won't realize they are under attack until it's too late. Finally Kagome stood and made her decision.

"Nisshoku, Hikari... Both of you are to transform into your dragon forms. The three of us are going to attempt to ward off the advancing group. Saisei, while we have the attention of everyone down there, I want you to knock out the two guards you were talking about earlier and bring them back up here. Watch over them until we come back." Kagome finished and glanced over at them in time to see the three nod their head. All four of them took a couple of minutes to observe what was going on down below. They saw the confusion of the youkai as the fog began to take over the valley and soon lost sight of them, once that happened Kagome gave out a single nod. Hikari was the first to transform, she controlled her giant size down to what would be a 'normal' youkai size. Her golden scales stood out even against the fog. Next was Nisshoku, his scales were black with a tint of violet. His amethyst eyes glowed ominously through the fog, which was good. The more frightened the humans were the better. Hopefully they wouldn't be stubborn enough to try and fight back.

Kagome was snapped out of thought as she began to hear the monks and mikos right below her and she knew it was time to step in. Kagome walked back a good distance from the edge before turning back around. She paused for a moment and took a deep breathe before she took off in a sprint. As soon as she reached the edge of the cliff she took a powerful lunge to put distanced between herself and the cliff. Wind whipped around her as gravity began to pull her down, Kagome quickly summoned a large amount of power and as soon as she had enough of it, she released it. With a bright flash of pink light, Kagome transformed into her dragon form with her giant onyx wings spread out to balance herself and slow her fall. She knew that once she transformed that it would alert both the youkai and humans of a holy presence, which was what she had hoped for. Shouts could be heard from below but Kagome paid no attention to it and instead used her telepathic link to her Guardians to give out further instructions.

'Hikari, flank them from the right side. Nisshoku, flank them from the left, I'll take the front. We need to push them back but make sure not to harm anyone.' Kagome didn't have to wait long for their response of understanding.

The three of them glided through the dense fog above the valley. The fog rolled and swirled around as they circled, creating panic down below. Shouts from the youkai and humans gave away their apprehension. Kagome could tell that the humans had entered the valley but stayed close to the forest's edge, as well as each other. The youkai had formed a line at the edge of their camp and had already drew their weapons in preparation to fight. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Kagome watched as Hikari descended to the right side of the humans. Shouts rang out as the humans shifted their focus towards Hikari, her landing slightly shook the ground and alerted the Reiki wielders of her presence, even though they couldn't see her yet.

Nisshoku was next to land, taking the left side, which caused the humans to back into each other as they tried to put some distance between themselves and their unknown enemy. Kagome circled the valley from above, she could see dark silhouettes down below that started to move forward. The line they created against the fog told Kagome that it was the youkai that were advancing towards the others. Opening her giant maws, Kagome let out a shrill shriek as she swooped down close enough to cause the fog to swirl around them wildly, making them stop in their advancement. The youkai looked around in wonder as they finally realized what was above them. She could feel their confusion from their auras. As far as Kagome understood, their were no youkai in Japan that were strong enough to shift into their beast form, not even the Great Sesshoumaru could anymore. This thought caused the youkai down below to tense and slowly back away, but they still refused to retreat.

Kagome circled one more time before heading towards the center of the valley. She lowered herself closer to the ground, flying right over the youkai line of defense, forcing the fog to bellow forward, clearing the line of sight in front of the youkai. They watched as Kagome's giant form righted herself up as she hovered over the ground for a quick second before using her powerful wings to clear the fog in front of her, reveling the group of Reiki wielders as well as Hikari and Nisshoku's form.

Kagome flapped her wings two more times to clear the rest of the fog from the valley in front of her, causing the humans in front of her to lower themselves closer to the ground to keep from being knocked off their feet. Slowly Kagome lowered herself to the ground and once her hind legs touched the valleys floor, gravity took hold of the rest of her as she fell forward, using her now folded wings to catch her fall as well as prop herself up.

Kagome could see the fear that resided in their eyes as they looked back at her and her two Guardians. The three of them still kept a good distance between themselves and the humans, giving them the option to retreat if they wish but their fear kept them rooted. Giving out a small huff, Kagome took a step forward as she let a low growl rumble from her throat. Hikari let out a vicious growl from the right, causing the humans to shift and look over at her, quickly backing away from her but still no one retreated. Nisshoku was the next one to draw their attention as he lifted his heavy tail up before swinging it back down to smack against the ground, making the rubble fly over the group of humans. Letting out a growl of his own and finally this caused ten of them to back away and flee but that still left 40 of them standing there.

All the while, Kagome took noticed of one human in particular. She noticed that not once did this man look over at Hikari or Nisshoku but instead kept his hateful gaze focused on Kagome. This told her that this man must be the one leading the group. He was young, if she had to guess he looked to be in his mid 20s. Kagome had to give him some credit though, she couldn't detect a single ounce of fear from this man and that made him dangerous. Having had enough of this, Kagome decided it was time to completely push them back. Taking another step forward, she gave a vicious growl before summoning her flames to her throat. She let it build for a good minute before she released it, moving her head slowly from one side to the other. As the hot fire bellowed from her giant maws, Kagome made sure to back her head up just enough to miss hitting any of them but kept it close enough that the humans could feel the heat of the flames licking at them. As the flames died down, Kagome noticed another 20 fleeing, but still the leader stood there glaring at her the best he could, his body hunched over as heavy coughs took over his body from all the smoke. The dry grass that was in between them caught on fire and it didn't take long for it to spread.

Kagome watched as more of the humans started to retreat back into the forest, so she told her Guardians to follow them and make sure to keep pushing them back. Nisshoku was the first one to go air born and Hikari quickly followed. It was around that time when Kagome heard Saisei tell her that he had the two soldiers and has hid the mirror inside the cart as instructed, so she decided it was time to end this. But before she could she felt multiple youkai signatures approaching from behind her. Quickly turning her head to look back, Kagome gave out a deep vicious growl to stop their advancement. She watched from out of the corner of her eye as they all paused and took a couple of steps back, and then glowing blue eyes meet another pair of familiar blue orbs. Kagome paused, a little stunned at who was half way across the field from her. Dressed in a white and green soldier uniform, was Kouga. The emblem displayed on the right side of his haori gave away his alliance with the Eastern Lord. Kagome looked around at the others and realized that the youkai group was a mixture of Eastern and Western soldiers. From the looks of it, it seems Kouga was a high ranking one if the uniforms were anything to go by.

They stared at each other for a couple of minutes, one completely stunned and the other in confusion. Kagome knew he didn't recognize her, which would be a good thing, but in her human form he might. She will have to be very careful in hiding her appearance. A familiar sound of a bowstring being drawn back snapped Kagome out of her thoughts and she quickly turned her head back around to look forward. Twelve men stood at the forest edge with drawn bows, all aiming at her and the youkai soldiers behind her. Kagome's eyes widened before she quickly pushed herself back on her hind legs and spread her giant onyx wings out, but she didn't do it in order to take off as the other had thought she would but instead it was to hopefully protect the soldiers that were behind her. She knew she wouldn't have had time to do anything else. The sound of the bowstrings snapping back as they released the arrows echoed throughout the valley. Kagome felt nine of the twelve arrows hit her, three in the chest, one in her right thigh, three in her left wing and two in her right one. Kagome grunted in pain but it quickly faded. Blue eyes blazed furiously as her body lurched back forward, using her now folded wings to prop her body back up.

Kagome glared at the stunned humans before her, she was pissed. She could tell that they were confused by their stunned behavior, probably because their arrows didn't purify her as they expected. Their first mistake was assuming she was a youkai, their last mistake was trying to kill her. Opening her giant maws, Kagome began to build her power again, this time with the intent of doing some damage. No she wouldn't kill them but she was definitely not going to play around any more. They all watched as a bright red and orange light began to grow in size inside her mouth, flames licking the outside of her jaws as some of it escaped. She glared at the men before her, her eyes mostly focused on the young man she had noticed earlier. Right before she could release her attack though, another one took it's place instead. Three quick flashes of lightning struck the ground right in front the the humans, scaring them into action and sent them bolting backwards to join their brethren in fleeing. Kagome closed her maws and calmed herself before glaring up at Hikari. Huffing in annoyance, she watched as Hikari turned from where she was hovering up above her and continued to chase the humans back. It was for the best Kagome supposed, she needed to keep her anger in check. She should have known better than to look away from them to begin with.

A painful groan soon caught Kagome's attention as she looked back over her shoulder again. One of the youkai soldiers was lying on the ground with an arrow sticking out of his leg, he was slowly being purified. Kagome quickly turned around and started to make her way towards him. The crowd that had gathered around him quickly backed up as she approached. They looked at her nervously, not sure what she was going to do since they weren't a hundred percent sure if she was a friend or foe. The simple fact that she could transform into what they believed was her true form, told them that she had to be powerful. Especially since she was still here after being hit with nine arrows without being purified.

Looking down at the soldier, she noticed his white and red uniform, he was a Western soldier. Looking further down at his leg, she noticed that it was already half gone, purified from the knee down and if she didn't act fast then the rest of him would soon be gone too. Kagome lowered her head and started to build her healing power. A blue light formed in her mouth before she lightly started to blow it out towards the youkai soldier. Everyone watched as the soldier started to heal, his leg reforming before their very eyes. His leg wasn't the only thing she healed though, once she completely healed him she noticed that she accidentally healed him from the curse too. While that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, she planned to cure them all of the curse, but she knew that it wouldn't be long before he realized he was no longer cursed and that would bring a lot of attention towards her than what she has already brought upon herself by saving them. Giving an internal sigh, Kagome supposed that it was too late now. The soldier would be ok now and that was what truly mattered, she would just have to be extremely careful from here on out.

The smell of burning wood clouded the valley and Kagome turned back to look at the dead forest. Her flames had spread rapidly and she figured that she should step in to take care of that, she didn't want to burn the whole forest down. With that thought in mind, Kagome quickly backed up before spreading her wings out to prepare for flight. She flapped her giant wings once and then on the second flap, she propelled herself up into the air. The soldiers down below watched her as she glided above the valley once before hovering over the blazing forest. Opening her big jaws, Kagome began to spit out frost and slowly began to put out the flames. When she was done the sun had finally set and Kagome took her leave. She still had much to do. Making her way back to the cliff, Kagome saw that her Guardians were standing there in their humanoid forms, waiting for her. Slowly she lowered herself on the ground and once she safely landed, she shifted back into her human form as well.

Instead of opening her eyes, Kagome kept them closed and her Guardians watched as she pulled her right sleeve back before untying the white silky cloth that was wrapped around her wrist. So soft, that even her Guardians could barely hear, Kagome began to say a chant and they all watched as the white cloth unraveled itself before fluttering up to wrap itself around Kagome's eyes. Kagome waited until it was secured before she opened her eyes and then she began to speak.

"How are our guests doing?" Kagome asked as she began to pull all the arrows out of her body one by one. She grimace slightly but other than that she didn't make a sound. Once all the arrows were out, she walked up to the soldiers before kneeling down to check on them. Releasing a small amount of her reiki, Kagome used it to check over their bodies. They were still unconscious but overall they were not hurt. She noticed that they were very weak and thin, the curse definitely took a toll on them. Placing two gloved covered hands on one of the soldiers chest, Kagome began to heal the first youkai, she noticed he was a Western soldier.

"They should be fine, it didn't take much for me to knock them out." Saisei responded back to her as they all watched as she healed him. Kagome nodded as she stood up and walked over to the Eastern soldier and knelt down again to heal him as well.

"That's good. Hikari, make sure that when you get to the Northern citadel that these two are well fed. You can tell that they haven't had a good nourishing meal in a long time. I'm beginning to think that the food we have been sending to them hasn't been enough. I will need to contact Lady Mother and tell her to send more food to us. I can only imagine how bad the others will be like." Kagome said as she looked down at the two soldiers.

"I'll make sure that it is done." Hikari told her with a nod of understanding.

"I couldn't help but notice that the Eastern soldiers seem to be in worse shape than the Western soldiers. Perhaps it isn't for lack of food, just lack of care from their Lord. Although it is hard to tell considering we haven't seen the Northern and Southern soldiers yet." Nisshoku said as he quietly observed the two in front of him. He had noticed it earlier when they were out in the valley and now looking at the two up close he could definitely tell that one was worse than the other.

"Hmmm, perhaps. I will look into it more once we reach the Western citadel." Kagome said as she stood up. "Have you two decided on who will be who?" Kagome asked as she looked over at Nisshoku and Saisei.

"We have decided that I will be replacing the Western soldier, it will be easiest for me to search for the book that way. Saisei will be replacing the Eastern one." Nisshoku answered and Saisei gave a silent nod in agreement. Kagome gave a small smile to the two of them, she was happy that they were working together for once but she didn't hold up any hope that it will last very long. The two of them gave Kagome a weird look as she let out a small chuckle.

"Alright, so how does this thing work then?" Saisei asked as he held out the bracelet Kagome had made for him. "I know nothing on how this stupid illusion thing works." Everyone heard Nisshoku scoff at Saisei before adding his insult.

"Of course you don't, what would a bird know of the art of deception and concealment anyways? I'm surprised you know anything at all." Saisei bristled before turning to snarl at Nisshoku's smug face and Kagome sighed. She knew the peace between the two wouldn't last very long.

"Enough you two, we don't have time for this!" Hikari growled out at them and Kagome thanked her silently before walking up to Saisei. Kagome then lightly smacked his shoulder to get his attention and to stop his murderous glaring that he was giving Nisshoku. Holding out her hand, Kagome silently asked for the bracelet and waited for him to give it to her. Once she had it, she sent him another small smile before turning to kneel down in front of the Eastern soldier. Lightly Kagome brushed her hand through his hair and when she pulled her hand free from the silky black mass, she had a single strand of it between her two fingers. Letting her powers flow to her hand, Kagome quietly whispered a chant as she twisted and wrapped the strand around the bracelet. Once it was done the bracelet glowed a bright green before slowly disappearing. Getting up, Kagome walked back over to Saisei and took his right wrist before she began to put the bracelet on him. When she was done, they all watched as his form changed. Slowly he began to shrink to match the soldiers size, his hair turned jet black and grew down to the middle of his back, and his eyes changed from black to a bright green in color.

Kagome hummed in satisfaction as she looked him over, then she reached down into her satchel to pull some clothes out. "Help me undress them, then we will be on our way."

Quickly the four of them undressed the two soldiers and then clothed them in the yukatas Kagome had brought. Once they were done she handed the Eastern uniform to Saisei and the Western one to Nisshoku. They both quickly changed into the uniforms and once Nisshoku was done he used his shape shifting ability to transform into the Western soldier. His inky black hair turned golden and his eyes went from amethyst to brown. Kagome looked them over and smiled, they were finally ready.

"Hikari, we are ready. Please be safe on your journey back. Tell the Lords not to worry and please try to keep them from doing anything rash." Kagome said as she handed Hikari her satchel to take back with her.

"I will do all that I can Kagome, please be safe. We will talk to you in a weeks time." Hikari told her with a nod and Kagome smiled before nodding back. They all watched as Hikari transformed into her dragon form before delicately picking up the two soldiers with her claws. Once they were secure she gave them one last nod before taking off, heading back up North.

Kagome sighed before picking up the brown cloak she had pulled out of the satchel and tied it loosely around her neck, then pulled up the hood to help conceal her face. Next she untied the small rope that she had tied around her waist. Walking over to Saisei, she handed him the rope before turning around and put her hands behind her back.

"Could you tie my hands please?" Saisei gave her a uneasy look but complied none the less. Once he was done Kagome turned back around and gave him a comforting smile to let him know she was alright.

"Are you two ready?" Kagome asked them and waited for them to nod.

"Lets get this over with." Nisshoku said with a sad sigh and watched as Kagome turned back around to face the edge of the cliff. Walking up to her, Saisei picked her up before they all jump off the cliff. Once they landed he let her go before guiding her towards the youkai encampment.

The walk to the camp was made in silence. From what Kagome could see there were three camp fires going and all of them were surrounding it, chatting to each other. Their voices were harsh sounding but not overly loud. The closer they got the more they could hear. From what Kagome could understand it sounded like they were discussing the dragons as well as what their next course of action should be.

"We didn't even get to hunt! The Lords won't be happy if we come back with nothing!" Kagome slowed her steps slightly to buy herself a little bit more time so she could over hear the conversations taking place.

"Yeah and how upset do you think they will be when they find out that we didn't come back and notify them about the attack!" Another one argued back. "Besides, the humans know we are here now. It's too dangerous to continue on the hunt anyways."

"forget the humans! I'm more concerned about those three dragons! Yes they saved us but are they a friend to us or another foe?"

"Do you think they could have come from the main land? Do you think Lord Jin would know something about them?"

"ENOUGH!" Kagome slightly jumped at the sound of Kouga yelling and stopped walking all together. They were pretty close to them now and she was surprised that they hadn't noticed their approach yet. Silence overtook the encampment and Kagome watched as Kouga glared at his group of soldiers.

"Once you all have eaten your share of the rations we will be heading back to the shiro and that's final! It's too dangerous now and I am not gambling anymore lives. We already lost two soldiers and almost a third one. I'm not sure what is going on and I can not give you the answers your looking for but maybe the Lords can. The Lords-" Kouga suddenly stopped talking as he finally turned around and noticed the three of them standing at the edge of camp.

"Eiichi, Saburo!" Kouga said out loud, Kagome noticed that his eyes slightly widened briefly before turning into a cold glare. "Where have you two been!?" Saisei and Nisshoku discreetly glanced at each other before looking back at Kouga and quickly fell into their role. Kagome watched as they both gave a bow before they straightened back up. Earlier the two of them had shifted through the two soldiers memory so that way they would be prepared for this encounter.

Nisshoku, or as she should say Eiichi, was the first one to talk. "General, we have found a captive." They watched as Kouga took a pause, finally noticing Kagome for the first time and scowled. "What do you mean you took a captive? Why didn't you just kill her!?"

"Sir, She told us that she has important information for our Lords. Information that would be invaluable to us." Saisei, currently known as Saburo, quickly spoke up before giving another small bow, much to his displeasure.

"What kind of information?" Kouga asked, slightly intrigued.

"She wouldn't say too much but she did mention something about the curse and the Shikon Miko." Nisshoku told him firmly and they all watched as Kouga's eyes widened again before taking a good, long hard look at Kagome. He took noticed right away that the bitch's reiki wasn't all that powerful, which would explain why Eiichi and Saburo were unharmed and he gave a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to lose more men, they needed every soldier they could for the upcoming war.

"What do you know wench?" Kouga growled as he took a few more steps closer to Kagome in what she assumed was to be in a threatening manner.

"I will only talked to the four Lords about this information... And in exchange I demand that my life be spared." Kagome voiced out strongly, refusing to be intimidated and Kouga scoffed.

"And how would I know if this information you have is even worth letting you live? I will not have you wasting our Lords time over nothing!" Kouga growled out as he lifted up his hand to tightly grip Kagome's chin, noticing for the first time that she had a cloth wrapped around her head.

"Because... I know who did this and I also know how to stop it. But if you kill me now then you all will die to it long before my kind are able to take you out." Kagome told him defiantly and Kouga gave her a sour look.

"We already know who cursed us wench, that information is anything new and she died 75 years ago." Kagome gave a small eerie chuckle before replying.

"Indeed she did, but are you so sure she is the one that cursed you?" Kagome waited a couple of seconds to make sure she had his complete attention. The next sentence was nothing but a whisper but she made sure that it was loud enough to be heard "I can't help but wonder how you do since I am the one who did it! And there for I am the only one who can cure it!"

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 12**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D

Until next time!

-Peach


	13. A Soul With A Motive

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. Ok, it's finally here! But before you lovely readers start reading I want to mention that I edited chapter 1 and added some new dialog but don't worry about going back and re-reading it. I have parts of chapter 1 in this chapter as well except it will have miner differences from the original chapter 1. I figured it would be easier this way since it has been so long since I first started this story, plus it wasn't a very long chapter. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter. Now the real fun begins! :D

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Kazenosasayaki- Guardian of Wind/ Trial of Honesty (Eagle)

*Lord Ryuunosuke- Japanese Lord of the North (Dragon)

*Lord Daichi- Japanese Lord of the South (Tiger)

*Lord Shin- Japanese Lord of the East (Bear)

*Lord Jin- Chinese ambassador (Panda)

*Ashanti- The Shapeshifter General of Akuma. One of Four dark Generals. She is the High General of Akuma's Army and is helping the Dark Champion. (Cobra Youkai)

*Akuma- The dark God. He is based off the god known as Yama or sometimes Enma depending on the culture, he is the god that judges the dead.

*Jinzu- The souls of the damned.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: A Soul With A Motive**

* * *

Kagome sat in her cell in complete silence as she waited. She only hoped her plan worked, all the lords in the world council were against her doing this alone but she insisted. She knew how these youkai were, their hatred for humans knew no bound especially for those of holy nature. They were not going to take her presence very well that she knew for certain. She just hoped that she could convince them to her side. She really didn't want to play dirty if she didn't have to.

Two weeks have passed since she was thrown in here, from what she heard from Nisshoku, the others were worried because it was taking so long. Everyone was getting restless in the North, if she didn't hurry then the lords will march her Holy Shields to the front gate of the Western Citadel and storm the place to find her. Nisshoku and Saisei needed to hurry! Movement caught Kagome's attention and she quickly looked to her right. She watched as a dark shadow moved across the wall and sighed in relief as Nisshoku appeared before her.

"Kagome, how are you fairing?" He asked and she could see the worry in his eyes as he knelt down in front of her. "As well as I can be, did you find the book?" She watched as he grimly nodded and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Kagome heard Nisshoku sigh before telling her what he had discovered. "It's in the old library of the late Inu No Taisho and it's guarded by a god's artifact. I can not find a way in, no matter how hard I try." Kagome sighed in frustration. This last book was being a pain in her ass! Of course getting the book can never be so easy! "The only way you can discover how to get in is through the Inu Lord." Nisshoku gently whispered to her and knew that was the last thing she wanted to hear, but it was none the less true.

"Great! He isn't going to tell me anything either. I'm going to have to use my soul searching ability on the stubborn dog then." Kagome said back unhappily and growled in frustration.

"We need to hurry, the lords are not going to wait much longer, they worry for their High Priestess. Perhaps by them coming here we can convince them better." Nisshoku watched as Kagome shook her head no. "I doubt they would let us in the front gate, especially once they see me. Not with all the lies that Kikyo has told them." Kagome said with hatred as she thought of the Dark Champion. She should have known, a lot of things made sense now that she discovered who Akuma's Champion was. She couldn't help but wonder how long Kikyo had known of their fated destiny. She supposed she would find out soon enough but she needed to proceed carefully from now on.

"Have you placed the mirror yet?" Kagome asked before she glanced back up to Nisshoku.

"Yes, I placed it in the Throne Room like planned." He told her with a nod.

"Good. I need you to check on Saisei and make sure his concealment spell is still holding strong. Keep your eyes and ears open and try to find Ashanti. I'm sure she is roaming around here somewhere with Kikyo. Also, make sure the other lords don't come for me yet. Kikyo hasn't felt my presence yet so I'm currently safe for now. I will be back at our camp after my trial. No one makes a move until then." Kagome watched as Nisshoku nodded his head before getting up to take his leave.

"Be careful Little One." And with that said he disappeared back into the shadows.

* * *

There was a loud bang of the dungeon doors closing and it made her jump. She quickly gathered her tarot cards and put them back in her robe before standing up and dusted herself off. She waited patiently for the guards to show themselves and quickly took off her black leather gloves before stuffing them into the pocket of her cloak. She could feel their aura approaching her cell. Their hostility was very evident and she flinched when they appeared in front of her cell, glaring at her but none of them said anything. The first guard unlocked her cell and the two other guards walked towards her before grabbing her roughly by the arms. The first one walked behind her and put his large hands on her shoulders to keep her still. The second one stopped in front of her and grabbed her hands, placing them in heavy metal shackles. Once she was restrained, they dragged her out of her cell and through the dungeon. Their strides were long and fast, making it hard for her to keep up. She didn't fight it, she deserved it after all. They turned the corner and she came face to face to the huge double doors that concealed those who will judge her today. In truth, she was petrified, even though nothing could kill her. She knew there was a handful of demons behind that door that she didn't want to face but she knew she had to...she wasn't ready. The feeling of panic started to seep in as they marched closer to the door. She had to calm herself, taking deep breaths, she heard the guard next to her start to chuckle. They were enjoying her suffering. Finally at the door, the guards open it. The demonic auras were suffocating as she entered the throne room.

The hate that filled this room was oppressing...she could hear all the snarling and hate filled comments as the guards continued to drag her to the front. As they got closer to the dais, she was surprised to see Inuyasha and Kikyo sitting off to the side but then again where ever Kikyo was Inuyasha wasn't going to be far behind. When finally there, the guards forced her to her knees in front of the four thrones before walking off to the side of the room. The growls around her stopped when one of the lords elegantly raised his clawed hand to silence the room before gracefully standing up.

He was beautiful, no other male could compare themselves to the Western Lord. His moon spun hair and bright golden eyes could make any female weak in the knees. With such a strong body structure and his height of 6'11 made him extremely intimidating. Lord Sesshoumaru was the most powerful demon in Japan... possibly the whole world. He was the youngest of the four lords looking no more than 25 even though he was a little over 800 years old.

To Lord Sesshoumaru's left sat the Southern Lord, Lord Daichi. Lord Daichi was a tiger youkai, ruler of the Tora Clan of the South. The tiger stood strong at 6'5 with knee length black hair and sharp orange eyes. Upon his forehead showed a red diamond, the Southern crest. He sat on the Southern throne wearing a white and gold kimono, displaying the southern colors. From what she knew of Lord Daichi was a fair ruler and loved by his subjects. He takes his job as lord very seriously and protects his people fiercely.

To the right of the Western Lord sat the Eastern Lord, Lord Shin. Lord Shin was a burly bear demon. Standing at 6'9, he had long chestnut brown hair that was pulled back in a high ponytail and his eyes were the color of the blackest coals. Lord Shin was the ruler of the Kumo Clan. You could tell by looking at him that he was utterly stubborn and a very rough fellow. Upon his forehead was the symbol of the East, a golden sun. He sat on the Eastern throne wearing a white and green kimono, the colors of the East. The bear youkai was an aggressive ruler and quick tempered. He is known for being greedy and his land suffered for it but in the face of this new threat he joined an alliance with the other lords.

Sitting next to Lord Shin was the fourth and final lord, the Northern Lord. Lord Ryuunosuke was the oldest and wisest of the four lords. His clan was the most ancient of all the clans, his kind was one of the first youkai. Lord Ryuunosuke was the leader of the Doragon Clan. The dragon was the biggest demon in the room standing at 7'5, he towered over everyone. He was a hard demon to miss not only because of his height but because of his striking purple locks and ruby red eyes. Upon his forehead was the Northern symbol, a white north star. He sat on the Northern throne wearing a white and blue kimono, the colors of the North. The dragon youkai was a kind ruler but vicious when needed to be. Most of the North was occupied by the dragons, very few could stand the cold climate. For the most part the North stayed neutral in war but has had an alliance with the West for over a thousand years.

She quickly looked down as all the lords glared at her. The hatred rolling off them made her flinch and recoil back. The silence was making her antsy and she tried her hardest to not fidget and waited quietly, keeping her head bowed. Finally Lord Sesshoumaru spoke, his voice so cold it sent a shiver up her spine.

"Tell This One why he should grant you a trial? Make your explanation quick wench, This One is low on his patience." He growled out viciously as his eyes started to tint red. All the demons in the room growled their agreement along with him.

"We should just kill her now and be done with it. The stupid bitch admitted to doing it. We don't need a trial!" Lord Shin rough voice shouted over all the growls echoing in the room. He flexed his claws wanted nothing more than to rip her apart.

"Yes we do..." All the growls stopped and looked over to the Northern Lord, waiting for him to continue. Lord Ryuunosuke looked around the room and sighed. Apparently everyone forgot a very important part of this situation.

"Explain, Lord Ryuunosuke." Lord Daichi finally spoke up, curious as to what the dragon had to say.

"Because what she is confessing to couldn't possibly be true. The destruction of the 7 villages happened 75 years ago. How could she be the one responsible when she is but human?" He finished explaining then turned to look at her intently. "But what This One really wants to know is, why is she admitting to something she didn't do?" He stopped and waited for her to reply. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the human wench kneeling in front of their lords, whispering among themselves.

"Hmmm, yes This One believes he did hear something about the false Shikon Miko being the one responsible for the crime and Prince Inuyasha has already dealt with her death." Lord Daichi murmured in agreement. All four lords looked down at the kneeling human in front of them in confusion.

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish here Wench? This One, along with the other lords are busy and are at the brink of war. We do not have time for you to be playing this little game of yours." Lord Sesshoumaru seethed out coldly.

"She should be punished for just wasting our time! The crime has already been dealt with... Guards!" Lord Shin exclaimed as he stood up and motioned for the guards to come forward and get the onna but everyone stopped when her small voice finally spoke out.

"That is where you are wrong, my lords. I am the one responsible for all those deaths, all 463 of them." She said barely above a whisper knowing that everyone could hear her clearly. She kept her head down as anguish washed over her.

She will never forgive herself for causing all those innocent deaths, even though it was by accident. She hadn't meant to harm anyone, wither they were demon, hanyou, or human. she was a pure soul... or at least she use to be, now she was tainted by the world around her. That night she had just awoke her dormant powers and couldn't control them and because of it 463 demons died that night. She has spent the last 75 years trying to make up for it by saving a life for every one she took. Thinking of the past made her look down at the amulet around her neck. It was the only thing keeping her powers at bay.

"Why do you continue to lie wench? If what you said was true you would be getting close to a hundred. You look no more then 20 years old." Lord Daichi asked, the look on his face completely confused.

She shifted uncomfortably, lifting her heavy shackled hands to the white cloth over her eyes and making sure to keep her head down. She start to say a soft chant, so soft that no one in the room could hear it. It was time to reveal herself, so she started to undo the shadow spell concealing her features. Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves because she knew once she revealed herself she would cause a riot, especially with Inuyasha and Kikyo. She finally turned her attention back to the lords in front of her and braced herself.

"I do not lie, my lords. I am the one you have been looking for and you are correct, I am 95 years old. My story is a long one but one I am finally ready to tell if you are willing to hear of it." She bowed and waited with baited breath for their answer. All the lords looked at each other and you could see that they were at least a little intrigued.

"Alright wench, we shall hear of it and decide your punishment afterwards." Lord Sesshoumaru finally conceded and she bowed her thanks.

"Now the question is where should I start?" she whispered more to herself than anyone else.

"At the beginning human." Lord Ryuunosuke answered for her and she nodded.

"It all started 80 years ago, when I was 15 years old. Most already have heard of my story at that time, I was well known throughout Japan." She shifted a bit to get more comfortable. Off to the side she could see Inuyasha's ears perk up and knew he was listening closely, so was his mate.

"I shall start by introducing myself then." She sat straighter and took a deep breath, making sure to keep her face hidden a little longer.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi and I am the Shikon Miko." There were loud gasps that filled the room, everyone in the room recognized her name. Lord Sesshoumaru gave her a sharp look. She could see Kikyo tense and Inuyasha stand getting ready to give his opinion on this new turn of events no doubt. Even the other 3 lords recognized her name. Lord Sesshoumaru silenced the room before speaking again.

"Lies, the Shikon Jewel has been wished on and the false Shikon Miko is dead. We have witnesses who saw her fall to her death. You are trying This Sesshoumaru's patience Wench!" Kagome knew he was starting to lose his calm composure and spoke up quickly.

"I assure you my lord, I am very much alive." Kagome finally lifted her head as she took off the white cloth and pulled her hood down to reveal herself. Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he looked at her. Kagome released a little bit of her reiki so he could feel it and catch her sent. All of these things will prove to him that she was who she claimed to be.

" **IMPOSSIBLE! I WATCHED YOU DIE BITCH!** " Inuyasha finally jumped up screaming. She knew it was coming. Even Kikyo was surprised. Kagome didn't even bother to turn and acknowledge either of them though.

"May I please continue my lord? We don't have much time." His glare shut Inuyasha up and he looked at her a few more minutes before nodding. Everyone focused on her and waited... no one wanted to miss any details of this story.

* * *

 **END OF FLASHBACKS!**

* * *

Kagome slowly opened her eyes as her memories faded from her mind and sighed. Thinking back on everything she has been through, all that she has done, everything she had lost just to get here made her slouched back slowly start to straighten. Her confidence was coming back to her, all her fears and depression started to dissipate as the fire deep inside her began to grow again. She had worked too hard to get to this point, too hard to let these four lords ruin everything she had worked so hard to build... And she will be damned if she let anyone in this room stop her from completing her destiny. Who were they to judge her anyways? She will only accept the punishment that the gods see fit, not these arrogant aristocratic youkai that think far too highly of themselves. Will she force them to her side? No, but she will make it very clear as to what is at stake here and give them a choice that they would be foolish to dismiss.

Kagome's head slowly started to lift, she will not bow her head any longer... She was stronger than that. She straightened and stared Sesshoumaru in the eyes, refusing to break eye contact. A fierce glint of power and defiance crossed her bright iridescent blue eyes and she almost smirked when she saw him tense up, she knew he felt the air shift around her as her demeanor drastically changed. She continued to watch him silently as his beautiful golden eyes hardened into a cold glare, oh yes... He felt her challenge. It almost made her face crack with a grin but Kagome quickly caught herself as she secured her own stony mask in place, there was no need to play with fire... At least not yet.

"75 years ago we all battled the malicious hanyou, Naraku... And with our combined efforts we won but with a heavy price. We lost two brave souls, a fierce fire cat who's companionship could never be replaced and my brave adopted kit-"

"Who lost his life due to your incompetence. If This Sesshoumaru remembers correctly, which This One does, you didn't do much of anything in that fight Miko. Your efforts were pathetic." Oh yes, the Western Lord was not happy with her challenging him, especially in front of his court. Kagome gritted her teeth before she continued.

"Yes, I admit that I wasn't the most helpful in the fight BUT I fought the hardest I could at that particular time." Kagome glared at the arrogant dog as he scoffed at her, she wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face. 'In due time' She told herself.

"As I was saying, that night after we buried our fallen, I over heard my so called friends discussing a plan to take the Shikon Jewel away from me to make a tainted wish-"

"FUCK YOU KAGOME! STOP WITH THE LIES! NO EXCUSE WILL SAVE YOU FROM WHAT YOU DID!" It was Inuyasha's turn to rudely interrupt her this time and Kagome seethed as she turned to face the mutt, anger flaring up in her eyes as she glared at him. She was getting sick and tired of the interruptions!

"LIES? I'm not the one telling the lies half breed! Perhaps if you didn't have your head so far up your dead bitch's ass then you could see what is really going on around you! But then again, you have always been nothing but a blinded fool!" Kagome growled out at him, her hate rolling off her in waves. She watched as Inuyasha flinched when she called him a half breed, she knew how much he hated it but she hardly cared anymore. Inuyasha growled and cracked his knuckles as he prepared himself to fight.

"ENOUGH!" Sesshoumaru's voice coldly echoed across the large throne room. He glared at his half brother before looking over at the Miko. Inuyasha never told him about this. "Continue Miko... And not another word out of you Inuyasha." Kagome calmed herself, shooting Inuyasha one last glare before directing it at the arrogant Inu lord.

"I ran! For days trying to escaped them but no matter what I did they still caught up to me. All four of them hunted me down. I eventually made it across your land to the ocean side, I remember looking down over the edge of the cliff. They succeeded in cornering me... And as I turned to face them Kikyo had released her arrow and the force of it pushed me over the edge as it lodged it's self into my stomach..." Kagome's voice grew soft as she recalled their betrayal.

"It killed me... As I started to sink into the ocean's abyss I decided to let go. I lost too much too soon and it made it easier for me to accept my death, I welcomed it." Silence over took the room as the Miko collected her thoughts and emotions.

"I still had the Shikon Jewel clutched in my hands as I took my last breath. That was when everything changed." Kagome paused again as she thought about what she was going to say next. She had to be careful, she didn't want to give away too much if the lords decided to be stubborn. Playing it safe for now was her best option.

"It emerged with me... It sunk into my heart, going back to it's rightful place and when it did it revived me. That was when I heard Midoriko voice as she told me of the great danger that was spreading across the lands. She told me it was my destiny to stop him. To stop Akuma, the dark god of the underworld. He began to plague all the demons he could for his undead army and it was my duty to stop him and his followers." Kagome said the last part with venom as she turned and glared at Kikyo, who in returned glared back at her. Sesshoumaru followed Kagome's line of sight and noticed she was glaring at his brother's dead mate before looking back at her.

"After I fully healed, the powerful barrier that the Jewel created released me and when it did, it also released my fully untapped powers and I stupidly release the seal that kept my powers at bay." Kagome paused as pain spread across her face as she recalled the event. "I couldn't stop it, I tried to but I couldn't keep it all in. My reiki exploded from me, spreading for miles in all directions. I felt every single soul it took... All 463 of them. When I finally recovered from it I knew I had to leave. I had to get a hold of my new untamed powers but I knew I wouldn't be safe here so I left Japan and started my journey-"

"You ran... Again." Sesshoumaru's deadpan voice rang out again as he glared at her.

"I didn't have a choice, I couldn't risk-" Kagome almost growled when the arrogant dog continued to interrupt her. She could feel Nisshoku and Saisei tense and almost growled out as well. Quickly she glanced beside her then back to Sesshoumaru before silently telling them with her thoughts 'Not yet, whatever he does just let it happen.'

"You always have a choice Miko! You decided to run from your crimes and evaded your punishment!" Sesshoumaru snarled and Kagome tensed up as she glared at him. She was getting sick of his snide behavior. 'Maybe it is time to put the over grown dog in his place.'

"Tell me Sesshoumaru, how long have you and your people been fighting this curse?! How many of your subjects have you lost to it?!" Kagome growled as she slowly started to stand up.

"That is no concern-" He started before Kagome cut him off.

"HOW MANY?!" Let's see how the dog likes to be interrupted all the time. She watched as Sesshoumaru stood up from his throne as he gave out a fierce growl.

"Watch your mouth Bitch! You will show This Sesshoumaru some respect and you will address This One properly! Furthermore, This One does NOT have to answer to some lowly incompetent human." Sesshoumaru sneered. His glare got even more frigid when he heard Kagome give out a sardonic laugh.

"You, my superior?! Oh no dog, you see, you seem to be confused! It is YOU who is below ME!" Kagome said with a smirk. Within a blink of an eye Kagome felt Sesshoumaru wrap his clawed hand around her throat as he lifted her up, her feet dangling three feet off the ground as he growled in her face. Kagome figured that would push him over the edge and just like the predictable dog he was, he didn't disappoint her.

She wrapped her bare shackled hands around his wrist and looked deeply into his bright golden eyes. She could see his rage flashing across them but that wasn't what she was looking for. She needed his memories. Her blue eyes glowed slightly as she continued to stare, searching for a memory of the old library or any of the last book. Her eyes shifting back and forth quickly as she looked through them. It took a minute but finally she found one and she stopped to focus on it, her hands clutched Sesshoumaru's wrist tightly as she was mentally pulled into the memory. Everything around her stopped, time stood still before she closed her eyes and let the memory take her in. When she opened her eyes again everything around her was different.

* * *

 _Kagome turned around as she heard voices behind her. Inu No Tashio stood in front of the old library door with a little Sesshoumaru standing right next to him. Silently she walked up to stand next to the six year old boy as he looked up in wonder._

 _"Father, where does this door lead to?" His small voice rung out through the hall and Kagome looked down at him. She couldn't help the small smile that crossed her lips as she listened to the little boy. It was almost surreal to her to see Sesshoumaru so young and vulnerable. His beautiful golden eyes were wide and innocent. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to make him the cold demon lord he was today._

 _"This door leads to the old library of our families ancient treasures. Only those of our great and noble bloodline can enter." Inu No Tashio said to his young Heir as he patted him on the head._

 _"But how does it keep other people out? Doors are not hard to open, I can do it easily." Kagome couldn't help but giggle at the boy as his cute little face scrunched up in confusion. He was just too adorable. She jumped slightly when she heard His father give out a deep chuckle._

 _"These doors are protected by a barrier created from a god artifact. You see son, we are descendants of the great moon god, Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto. He gave one of our ancestors an amulet that will give us great protection in a time of need." Inu No Tashio said as he knelt down to his sons level._

 _"Oooh, is that why we are so powerful? Is that why our crest is a moon?"Little Sesshoumaru asked as he lifted his tiny clawed hand to touch the crescent moon on his brow. Inu No Tashio laughed again as he nodded his head._

 _"Well, how do we get in?" Sesshoumaru asked as he stared at the intricate carved doors._

 _"All you have to do is lay your hand on the door and push." Sesshoumaru looked at his father and watched as he laid his hand on the door and motioned his son to do the same. Sesshoumaru hesitated a split second before following his father's actions. Kagome watched in interest as their hands glowed a bright red before the double doors began to open. Soon both of them walked through the doors and Kagome quickly followed behind them._

 _Looking around the room she noticed that there were shelves all along the walls filled with scrolls. There where valuable statues placed at the ends of the book shelves and chests filled with gold and jewels at the feet of them. All the way in the back of the room she saw a giant jade statue of Tsukuyomi-No-Mikoto and a moon pendant was wrapped around the statues neck. That was when she saw it, to the left of the statue was a black marble podium and placed on top of it was the tome she was looking for. Quickly Kagome walked across the room and up to the podium, ignoring the father and son for the time being. As she walked up to it, she noticed the book and her amulet started to glow which caught her by surprise. She was in a memory so why was her amulet glowing? Her hand reached out to the book to pick it up but to her disappointment her hand went right through it. Kagome gave out a small growl as she glared down at the book. Her thought process was broken when she saw two small clawed hands reach up to grip the edge of the podium. She took a step back as she watched little Sesshoumaru slightly lift himself up to look at the book in wonder, his nose barely reaching over the edge._

 _"Father, why is this book glowing?" She turned slightly to see Inu No Tashio walk up to his son. Taking another couple steps back she watched the two with interest._

 _"This One does not know son, it has never done that before." Inu No Tashio picked up the book and began to flip through it as he knelt down so his son could see it too._

 _"What does it say?" Sesshoumaru asked as he climbed into his father's lap before running his little hand over the glowing symbols on the pages._

 _"This One does not know. It is written in the language of the Gods." Kagome quickly walked around to the other side of big Inu Lord to look over his shoulders. Quickly she began to memorize the words in the book. 'Himitsu No Sho' The Book of Secrets._

 _As Kagome was reading the book she began to notice that everything was coming in and out of focus. Her time was running out, soon she would be pulled out of the memory. Kagome straightened herself up and took a couple of steps back before closing her eyes as she began to feel the pull._

* * *

Kagome slowly blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. When it finally focused again she noticed Sesshoumaru giving her an odd look but didn't think to much on it. The glow in her eyes faded as she released Sesshoumaru's wrist. She watched as Sesshoumaru snapped himself out of his thoughts then glared at her again.

"You are truly delusional Miko to even think for one second that you are above This Sesshoumaru!" He growled out viciously as he squeezed her neck a little harder, his claws digging into her delicate skin. "It would take nothing for This One to break your neck!" Sesshoumaru watched curiously as she just hung there limply, she wasn't even struggling to try and break herself out of his hold or trying to breathe. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he continued to study her.

"That's where your wrong Sesshoumaru." He growled again at her lack of respect to his person but she continued like she wasn't fazed. "This One IS above you in station and you will soon find out just how far above you This One really is." She rasped out calmly, her voice just barely above a whisper since his claws were trying to close her windpipe. His grip slacked slightly for a moment as he tilted his head to the side.

"Why do you think this Miko?" Kagome let out a small dry laugh before deciding to fill him in.

"75 years is a long time Sesshoumaru. People can change drastically over that amount of time. You see, This One wasn't just sitting around twiddling her thumbs and doing nothing. How long has Japan been plagued with this curse?" Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed at her as his claws tightened again.

"My people are of no concern to you Bitch!" He sneered and continued to tighten his fist. Kagome rolled her eyes, she was getting tired of going around in circles with this stubborn lord. Finally having had enough, Kagome summoned her flame portal and disappeared out of his clutches before reappearing behind him.

Now she stood in between Sesshoumaru and the other 3 seated Lords. The crowd gasped in surprise and the guards quickly drew their weapons. Before they could take another step, Nisshoku and Saisei dropped there concealment spells and drew their weapons as well. Nisshoku turned around to faced the crowd and five guards, Holding his black scythe in front of him just in case he needed to defend the little Miko. The crowd backed up quickly as they stared at the dark cloaked figure in apprehension. Saisei quickly summoned his flame portal and teleported himself right behind Kagome. Drawing his double swords, he face the 3 Lords that had gotten up from their thrones.

Sesshoumaru frowned slightly at his singed claw before turning around to face the Miko. Inuyasha stood in complete shock as he watched Kagome, she most defiantly couldn't do that the last time he saw her. Shaking his head to snap himself out of his stupor, he rushed to his brother's side and pulled out Tessaiga. With everyone up in a riot, no one took notice as the dead miko made her way through the crowd to take her leave.

"You stupid Bitch! What do you think your doing?!" Inuyasha huffed out as he looked back and forth between her two Guardians. "You are completely surrounded! You have gone mad if you think you can leave!" At this Kagome gave out an unladylike snort and lifted a single eyebrow.

"What? Do you think you can stop me if I do?!" She asked them in a haughty tone. She was getting so sick and tired of these dogs, but two can play that game. If it wasn't so important for her to find a Lord for Asia to join her council then she would have left awhile ago. But unfortunately the High Priestess can not be an Overlord. Her role was to keep the peace among the Overlords and do what was right for their people.

"Keh, do you really think your going anywhere with those shackles? You do realize they are enchanted right? You dumb Bitch! You can't leave the castle as long as they are locked around your wrists!" Inuyasha said with a smirk but that was quickly wiped off his face when Kagome started to laugh.

"Oh Inu-baka, do you honestly think these can actually stop me?!" Kagome asked with a grin across her lips. "Again, you underestimate me!" And to prove her point, Kagome lifted her hands up to eye level so they could see the thick metal chains before making them jingle together as though to mock them. Everyone watched as her hands glowed a soft pink as she whispered a chant, then the shackles unlocked themselves and released Kagome's wrists before falling to the floor with a loud clatter. Kagome smirked before letting her arms fall back down to her side.

"Well then, since you will not answer my question then I'll tell you just how long I have been fighting this curse." Kagome's voice rung out as she glared at the brothers." 75 years... I have been fighting this curse, since the moment I left Japan! For 75 years I have traveled all over the world helping other youkai, curing them of it. You see they are no longer plagued like you and your people." Kagome heard gasps of surprise and immediately the room filled with whispers. She took a small moment to let the murmurs stop before continuing.

"This One has fought this darkness, curing the curse, as well as fighting against the dark god's army. This One has also rallied all the last remaining Youkai Lords of the world and we have come together to fight against it, combining our forces and This One has found a way to defeat them." Kagome pulled her eyes away from the brothers and looked out into the crowd of nobles, deciding to speak to them instead.

"So, let This One reintroduce herself. My name is Kagome Higurashi, you all know me as the Shikon Miko but to the rest of the world... They know me as the High Priestess and I have come to give you my aid. This One comes to seek an alliance with Japan's Lords and hopefully dub one of your Lords as Japan's Overlord, The Lord of Asia. He will then become a member of the World Council and together we will defeat this darkness!" The whispers in the room grew louder as everyone talked among themselves, it was a mixture of fear and excitement but most importantly... Hope. Kagome took another quick scan of the crowd before her eyes landed back on Sesshoumaru. "Of course, the choice is up to you. You can either join us or fight the darkness by yourself and This One will go elsewhere to find a different Lord for Asia." Kagome and Sesshoumaru locked into a staring contest, neither one willing to back down.

"Keh! We were doing just fine without your help Bitch! We will be damned if we bow down to a weak pathetic Miko! We got my mate to help us against this darkness!" Inuyasha yelled out with an arrogant huff and Kagome looked over at him with a smirk.

"Inuyasha, your mate has been working for the dark god since the beginning. She's the one that has been helping him curse all the youkai here!" Kagome sneered back and watched as his ears laid back on his head and he snarled. "And as far as you all doing just fine, well of course you are. This One made sure of it! Where do you think you were getting all your food and supplies from?!" Kagome said with a smirk as she tilted her head to the side. "This One has been overseeing all of Asia until an Overlord could be found." She watched as Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly, if she hadn't been watching him closely then she would have missed it.

"This Sesshoumaru has a trading alliance with Lord Jin of China. That is where we have been getting our supplies from. This Sesshoumaru is well aware of who he trades with and YOU are not one of them!" Sesshoumaru finally spoke up as he glared at her. "Do NOT play This Sesshoumaru for a fool Bitch!" Kagome couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"And tell me Lord Sesshoumaru, who do you think Lord Jin is loyal too?" Kagome asked with a smirk. "Lord Jin is This One's Chinese Ambassador. He has been trading with you under my instructions. This One gave him everything you and your people needed." Sesshoumaru tensed as he thought over her words. Kagome took this moment of silence on his part for her to continue. She needed to hurry and get back to the other lords, it was almost midday.

"And that support that you have been getting from us WILL be cut off if you decline this alliance offering. So This One suggests that you 4 Lords think over this very, very carefully." Kagome said as she looked over at her Guardians. Using her mental connection, she told them to prepare for departure. Kagome made her way over to the open balcony off to the side of the throne room before glancing over her shoulder one last time to look at Lord Sesshoumaru.

"This One does not want you or your people to fall to this darkness and it is This One's hope that we can come to an agreement Lord Sesshoumaru. Please think carefully over everything This One has told you today. We will be back at dawn for your answer." Kagome told him softly. She hoped that the proud Inu Lord accepted her offer but if he didn't she will just have to find another way to help the Japanese people. With that said, Kagome summoned her flame portal and left the Western Citadel, her guardians following closely behind her.

* * *

Sesshoumaru watched as the miko disappeared from the balcony along with the two darkly clothed figures. A big part of him wanted to chase after her but he knew he couldn't, his whole court was rallied up from confusion and with some excitement. He couldn't blamed them though, he too had so many questions about everything the miko just revealed. His eyes slightly narrowed in thought... There were some questions he had that he didn't need the miko to answers though. He needed to have a talk with his half brother, Inuyasha has a lot of explaining to do. Lord Jin was another one he needed to talk to as well. If what the miko said was true then things just got a lot more complicated for them. He knew one thing for sure though, he needed the miko to cure them. Now that they were officially in a war against the local monks and mikos, they needed all the help they could get. Sesshoumaru let out an almost inaudible sigh before he turned around and approached Inuyasha.

Inuyasha sheathed Tessaiga before glancing around the throne room, out of the corner of his eye he caught his bastard of a brother approaching him and became nervous. The way Sesshoumaru was glaring at him told Inuyasha that he was in some deep shit and subconsciously his ears folded back against his head.

"We need to talk. Be in this one's study in 10 minutes and don't even think of running like your mate has conveniently done. Be assured little brother, I will hunt you down myself and it will NOT end well for you." Sesshoumaru growled out lowly before storming out of his throne room.

He quickly made his way down the hall towards the entrance of his Shiro and spotted Kouga, Sesshoumaru made his way towards the wolf prince and briefly stopped to give him his next set of orders. "Do not let Inuyasha out of your sights. He is not to leave this palace for any reason, is that understood?" Sesshoumaru watched as Kouga gave a quick nod and a confused glanced but before Kouga could ask any questions Sesshoumaru walked away.

As the Inu Lord made his way up the stairs, he started towards his study. He was completely lost in thought as he turned down the hall but something odd caught his eye and Sesshoumaru paused in step before glancing down. His brow furrowed in confusion as he stared at the glowing light that filtered under the door to his right. Looking up, he noticed it was the door that lead to his father's old library. Sesshoumaru placed his hand on the door and watched as it glowed red before he was able to push it open. As the bright light flooded out of the room, Sesshoumaru blinked a couple times to adjust his eyes before glancing around and what he saw made his eyes slightly widened. The old book his father had always been obsessed about was glowing brightly on the other side of the room. He hadn't seen that book glow like that since he was a very small pup and couldn't help but wonder why it was now after all these years.

"My Lord! My Lord!" Sesshoumaru quickly glanced behind him and watched as one of his soldiers approached him. He waited a moment as the soldier caught his breath. "What is it?"

"My Lord... Your Mother has returned. She is waiting in your study, she has something urgent to talk to you about." Sesshoumaru sighed again before closing his eyes and took a deep breath. Of course... His mother always had the worse timing when it came to making an appearance.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 13**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D

Until next time!

-Peach


	14. A Soul of a Fool

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. You guys are amazing! Sorry for the long wait, had a busy schedule at work for the past 6 weeks but hopefully it should slow down for a little while now. I am also working on another story but don't worry, this story will take first priority, I just need a another story out there to work on when I get writers block or when I need a small break to collect my thoughts for this one. Ok, so to answer some of the questions I got (on both Fanfiction and Dokuga) in reviews/messages, some reviewers brought up some good points.

Why do all the Guardians have Japanese names? That is because Kagome is Japanese, so they will go by a name of the origin of the champion. More of this will be explained when Kagome meets the last Guardian, I am going to have to leave it at that for now or else I'll give away too much. I had mentioned a previous champion in chapter 10 by the name Senka and I got confused by the misunderstanding of that being a Japanese name. lol It wasn't until I googled it that I realized that name has appeared in another anime, so yes, the name is Japanese BUT It is Russian as well. In Russian it means "shadow" and in Japanese it means "Ravages of war" but if you look up the name you will find that it pops up as Russian not Japanese, so I don't believe that it was originally a Japanese name to start with. I had to actually look up 'Senka Japanese meaning' before I even found anything on the name, so Senka is not a common Japanese This is common though when it comes to anime... Not all names that appear in them are originally Japanese but have been adopted in a way into the culture, a good example of this is the anime Jormungand. The name Jormungand (Jormungandr) is Norse but yet it is the name of a Japanese anime series, and there are many other examples of this in other anime's as well. which brings me to my next topic... Yes Kagome would know about many different cultures. Japanese schooling is no different than our own as far as the basics of what they learn, they are not ignorant to the cultures around the world so I look at it like this, if I learned it in school than it's likely to believe that Kagome would have too. Now every school is different in some way but a lot of this I learned the basics of growing up and already knew about with out doing a lot of research on it. But some of the stuff that went into more detail of the culture is stuff she would have learned while being there for a long period of time (India/ Scandinavia/ Russia being the places she spent most of her time at).

Now in Chapter 13, at the beginning, I had mentioned that two weeks have passed instead of 3 weeks, 5 days ect. This was not a mistake in writing. I didn't realize, until it was pointed out, that the fanfiction site doesn't let you use some of the symbols in your writing. I actually had a star symbol there at the end of the conversation to indicate a change in scene. I didn't realize that at the time though so I apologize for the confusion. lol That conversation took place a week an a half before Kagome's trial.

In my story I have it listed as a Sess/kag story with it tagged as a romance. Yes this IS a sess/kag story! And yes there IS romance in this! lol I wasn't lying in that, we just haven't gotten that far yet. This story isn't even half way done yet, so please have faith, I won't disappoint you in that! lol I know that some of you are worried because of the visions that Kagome is seeing but please remember, she is only seeing very small glimpses of the future and not the whole thing, and as far as her death goes... Well that was a memory, NOT a vision. lol So she is going to make her own assumptions on them but that doesn't mean that her assumptions on them are right. Even though the Guardians have stated that this is the fate of all Champions, I have been dropping hints throughout the story that this time around something is different, or I should say everything is different then the previous wars. I am the type of writer that likes to drop hints and I love plot twists. Just when you think you figured it out, I like to throw a proverbial wrench into the cog machine. But again, don't worry, everything will work out... It just might not be as you first expected.

A lot of this story is about growth, making mistakes and learning from them, as well as getting knock down but getting back up stronger for it. The gods made Kagome with what they deemed as the perfect champion BUT she is far from perfect. Everyone is flawed and this includes her as well, even though she isn't human anymore she still has human tendencies. But have no worries, while there will be sad parts in this story, it will not have a sad ending, I'm not a fan of sad endings either. :D

Also, there are parts of the story that I left vague, this was done for a reason. Like the groups 'betrayal' of Kagome, for an example. Some of you are right, the group wouldn't just go and betray her so easily. There is more to the betrayal than what meets the eye. At the time, certain characters had yet to be introduced into the story for the whole betrayal to make sense. A lot of that will be revealed in this chapter. Please remember, Kagome only knows her side of the story, not the whole truth. Inuyasha is not a bad guy in this story, just an idiot. He will actually help Kagome a lot in this, well, only once the two get over their hostilities anyway.

I do want to say thank you to the ones who reviewed with the good questions, they where very much appreciated. I figured if one person had questions on something then more than likely someone else was thinking the same thing, so I wanted to address them. I rely a lot on you guys to let me know wither or not I am writing clearly enough. So I love hearing all your feed back! But please, if you guys have any questions please write them under your username, if you ask them under guest than I can't answer them back. Guest reviews are more than welcome but I won't be answering them in the chapters anymore, but I will message you if you ask them under your user name. I don't want to have my chapters being filled with really really long author notes like this one. lol Now that everything is caught up to present time, everything will slow down, there will not be anymore big time gaps like in the previous chapters. There will also be more different POVs from other characters instead of just Kagome's. Now we will be finding more about what has been going on during Kagome's absence.  
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Please make sure to look over the OC List and recap to refresh your memory. Also, there will be Mythology facts listed at the bottom of the chapter for your own curiosity.

* * *

 **Original Characters: (Characters in this chapter- except for the guardians, they will always be listed.)**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Kazenosasayaki- Guardian of Wind/ Trial of Truth (Eagle)

*Ashanti- The Shape shifter General of Akuma. One of Four dark Generals. She is the High General of Akuma's Army and is helping the Dark Champion. (Cobra Youkai)

* * *

Recap of Chapter 13: The trial has finally concluded. Kagome revealed her true purpose of being there and gave the Japanese Lords an option, join her or loose her support. Kikyo made her escape but unfortunately Inuyasha didn't and now he has a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: A Soul of a Fool**

* * *

Inukimi stood elegantly by the window in her son's study, gazing absentmindedly at the courtyard below as she waited for him. Excitement ran rampant through her and it was taking everything in her to not run out this room to confront her son, to ask him if the rumors she heard were true. She just hoped more than anything that it was. Now more than ever they needed what the miko could offer, she just hoped her son wouldn't be stubborn about this. She brought a pale clawed hand up to the spot in the middle of her chest where the source of the pain was coming from. Everyday the pain grew a little more and honestly she didn't know how long her people were going to last. The opening of the study door snapped Inukimi out of thought and she turned to face her son.

"Mother... I did not expect you to return so soon. I take it that everything went well on your journey?" Sesshoumaru asked as he looked over at his mother. Inukimi scanned her son's figure briefly before answering.

"Yes, everything went well. All the noble women and their young have made it safely to the palace of the moon. The only threat to them now is the curse." Sesshoumaru nodded before he silently made his way to sit behind his desk. Inukimi followed suit and sat on one of the cushions that was placed in front of him. Once she was comfortable, she pulled out her fan to cool herself before she looked up to study her son. His face was blank as he gazed down to scan the paperwork that was before him. On the outside he looked calm and unaffected, but she knew better. The curse hit him harder than anyone else. He was once the strongest of them but now... Now he was technically the weakest of the four lords. She feared what would happen if anyone ever found out how much this curse has effected him, some may take this opportunity to try and take him out. The only reason others haven't found out about this was because of his mokomoko and the fact that before hand he always kept his power hidden. Mokomoko stored all his excess yoki, which others could feel. She had begged him to take his extra yoki back into himself since he was losing it to the curse at an alarming rate but he refused, stating that he will only do so in a life or death situation. Although she had a feeling it also had something to do with his pride as well, it took him a full decade just to admit that he was indeed cursed like the rest of them. That was why she needed to know if the rumors were true.

"Is it true? The rumors of the miko. That she can help us and cure the curse." Inukimi watched as her son finished what he was reading, making her wait, before he finally put the scroll down and looked up at her.

"I do not know mother. We have no proof that she can, only her word." He stated as he leaned back slightly and stared at his mother, waiting for her next question. If she heard about what had just transpired in the throne room then he knew a long line of questions were coming... And she didn't disappoint him.

"What has been said? Will she help us?" A thousand thoughts began to run through Inukimi's mind as she waited for her son to answer her. If it was true than this changed everything. The battle that laid ahead of them wouldn't be so threatening, they could win. She also heard rumors that the miko had an army of youkai as well. If they could combine their strengths then their victory would be secured. Inukimi stood up and began to pace in front of the desk as she tried to work through all her thoughts of up coming plans.

"She offered an alliance, but I don't know if we should take it yet. I need answers first." Sesshoumaru told his mother as he watched her pace. Inukimi suddenly stopped before whipping around to face her son. "What? Why didn't you take it? We need her help Sesshoumaru!" Inukimi growled out as she glared at her son. This was not the time to let pride get in the way of things. She knew that her son hated to ask for help of any kind but all of their lives were at stake here.

Sesshoumaru returned his mother's glare with one of his own. "This miko is the Shikon Miko mother. Inuyasha told us that she was the one who cursed us all to begin with. I will not accept her alliance until I find out the truth of what really happened." Sesshoumaru growled out and the two silently glared each other down for a few seconds before Inukimi conceded. Her son was right of course and she had to agree with his line of thinking.

"Where is Inuyasha?" Inukimi asked as she begun to slowly pace again. This was not something she expected. But she hoped that it was some kind of misunderstanding. "He is on his way, I have instructed General Kouga to keep a close eye on him. Inuyasha is not aloud to leave the palace grounds." Sesshoumaru answered her before going back to look over the scrolls that littered his desk.

"Kouga, the Eastern General? Are you sure he can be trusted? The alliance with Lord Shin is barely hanging by a thread." Inukimi asked with slight worry. The tension between the East and West was thick at the moment. She had no doubt that Lord Shin was plotting something and was just waiting for the right time to strike.

"Yes, he can be trusted. Despite their constant fighting and bickering, Inuyasha trusts Kouga." Sesshoumaru answered with a bored tone as he tried to focus on what was in front of him.

"Sesshoumaru, we don't even know if we can trust Inuyasha now, after the recent events. So why trust him on this?" Sesshoumaru grit his teeth together before letting out a small inaudible sigh, then looked back at his pacing mother. He watched her for a few seconds before letting his irritation go. He knew she was just worried, now while their relationship has never been what some would call a loving one, he knew a lot of her worry was for him and continuation of their species... And above all, he knew without a doubt that she was the only one he could fully trust.

"I never detected a lie from him mother. Inuyasha truly believed what he told us when he first came here. I have a feeling that if their was any kind of deception then it came from the dead miko and Inuyasha took her word for it. We need to figure out exactly what really happened after the fight with Naraku." Inukimi paused in step again before she turned around to finally sat back down. Looking back up at her son, she waited a few moments before she tried to speak but a knock on the door interrupted her. Sesshoumaru glanced over at the door before telling them they could enter.

Both mother and son watched as Kouga opened the door before shoving a reluctant Inuyasha inside. Sesshoumaru gave a brief nod to Kouga, giving him permission to leave before turning his attention back to his brother. He watched as the hanyou's ears flickered twice before finally folding back against his head. He could tell that his brother was nervous, the way he slightly started to fidget gave his inner anxieties away.  
"Inuyasha, sit." Inuyasha glanced over at his older brother, then turned to look at Inukimi. Both of their faces were blank as they studied him. Slowly he made his way over to the red cushion in front of the right side of Sesshoumaru's desk and sat down. Silence hung thickly in the air as all three of them took a moment to collect their thoughts. There was no sign that told Inuyasha that he wasn't about to get his head ripped off, although he noted, that Sesshoumaru seemed some what in a calmer state. He had a feeling though that before they all walked out this study, not one of them was going to walk away happy.

Finally Sesshoumaru decided to speak. "Tell this Sesshoumaru what happened after Naraku's demise. Start with after this one left the camp." Sesshoumaru lean forward slightly, making sure to watch his brother closely to look for any signs of deception.

Inuyasha gave him an odd look. 'After he left camp?' Inuyasha looked down in deep thought, trying to remember. His memory was a little hazy, but if he recalled right, the last time he had seen his brother was two days before the battle with Naraku. He remembered being irritated that Sesshoumaru was lurking close to Edo and when he finally confronted him, he said that it was only logical to stick close. There were no shards left to find and that meant the final battle was near. It was the same reason that Kikyo showed up the very next day as well.

"Are you talkin about after you left Edo? Cuz that was before the battle." Inuyasha asked as he looked back up at his brother. Now it was Sesshoumaru's turn to look confused, but that quickly disappeared and was replaced with an irritated glare.

"No, this Sesshoumaru is talking about what happened after the battle. We made camp and then this one left. On my way, this one ran into the miko crying by the stream near by. What happened when the miko returned back to camp." Sesshoumaru asked as his glare intensified.  
Inuyasha, now with out a doubt, was fully and completely confused. What was his brother talking about? 'How the fuck should I know? I never even made it to the final battle, thanks to that fuckin wolf!' Inuyasha's eyes went from confused to a glare, which caused Sesshoumaru to raise an eyebrow.

"Inuyasha?" His brother's voice snapped Inuyasha out of thought. Looking up, Inuyasha gave him another glare but did decide to speak.  
"Keh... I don't know what kind of game your playing but it ain't funny. What? Is this some form of fucked up way to gloat that you and Kikyo took that evil fucker down? Why gloat now after all these years, huh?" Inuyasha growled as he crossed his arms and looked away. Then quickly muttered an 'Asshole' under his breath, not caring in the slightest that his brother would be able to hear it. And to think after all these years of finally working together and putting the past behind them, that his brother would start this shit again!

Sesshoumaru silently observed his younger brother, ignoring the insult for now, and really looked closely at him. He didn't need his yoki to be able to tell if he was lying or not. Inuyasha had always been an open book so to speak. He couldn't lie to save his life. Everything in his body language screamed genuine anger and confusion. This lead Sesshoumaru to believe that he was telling the truth. Taking a quick glance over at his mother, Sesshoumaru watched her shake her head no, only confirming what he already thought. Inuyasha wasn't lying, he truly had no idea what Sesshoumaru was talking about.

"This one is not gloating Inuyasha. Did you sustain any injury that might have caused you to have holes in your memory?" Sesshoumaru asked and Inuyasha growled... His glare getting colder.

"No asshole! I didn't. I wasn't there! So why do you think I was? Did YOU hit your head and get your memory fucked up?!" Sesshoumaru straightened and growled viciously. He was trying to be as patient as he could but he was losing it at a fast rate.

"No, you idiot hanyou! This one asks because this one saw you there. You were fighting right along side the dead one. You used the wind scar to mix in with our attack to finally destroy Naraku." Inuyasha huffed before finally replying.

"No, I was chasing down a thieving wolf, who had stolen my Tessaiga the day before the battle! I didn't see the group again until afterwards, when they all came back to Edo. I hadn't seen you again until 10 years after the final battle! So if you think you saw me, then you were mistaken." Inuyasha finished with a huff. He didn't understand what his brother was going on about, but whoever he saw sure as hell wasn't him.

Sesshoumaru studied his brother for a few minutes more before glancing over at his mother, who also had a slightly confused look on her face since she couldn't detect any lies coming from either of them. Looking back over at his half brother, Sesshoumaru let his thoughts wonder for a moment. When he had seen Inuyasha again, it had been 10 years after the battle. He was surprised when Inuyasha and his mate had shown up at his front gate. At the time, the dead miko claimed to have information about Lord Shin and the army he was gathering. It was no secret that the East and West were hostile towards each other at the time and the information the miko claimed to have intrigued him, so he allowed them entrance. The information proved to be helpful and he was able to take control of the situation before it got out of hand. During that time, the past battle with Naraku never came up, he didn't see the need to bring it up and apparently neither did Inuyasha. So when the two came back again, 10 years after that, he didn't hesitate to let them in. Especially when his brother claimed that his mate could help them with the recently discovered curse and said that they had information on who started the curse. The whole time Inuyasha was the one to speak, telling him about how the Shikon miko had went into a craze, cursing and killing his kind. He told him that his mate was currently looking for a way to cure the curse. After awhile she discovered a temporary solution and since then, the two of them had been here.

Inuyasha joined his army, proving his wroth and it only took him about 5 years to climb the ranks, becoming one of his war generals. 3 years after that, he helped him catch a traitor that was in his home, which ended being his main general at the time, and Sesshoumaru honored him with the title and position of becoming the main war general of the West. His mate joined his group of healers and like her mate, it didn't take long for her to become the West's main healer. Which now that he thought about it, if the Shikon miko was right, that would have given the dead one full access of cursing his people without a problem. But he couldn't be for sure yet without more information. All he knew for sure was that one of the two mikos was guilty of the curse.

"Inuyasha, tell me about the wolf and everything that happened before you saw your pack again." Inuyasha looked up at his brother for a moment before looking down in thought.

"He didn't have a normal humanoid form like we do but instead of walking on all fours like a lower level youkai, he walked on two and he could speak. His fur was grey colored and he wore a pair of ripped Hakamas, but they weren't like our normal Hakamas." Inuyasha said as his scratched the back of his head as he tried to think harder. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he looked at his brother. "What do you mean, Inuyasha? Are you saying that he was foreign?" Sesshoumaru asked with an irritated sigh.

"Yea, he had to be. He could speak Japanese but it didn't sound right when he did. He said his name at one point but I can't remember what it was, it was something weird though and it was definitely not Japanese." Inuyasha paused a moment to think before speaking again. "Anyway, he took me off guard, I wasn't even able to sense him until it was too late and he managed to grab Tessaiga. Some taunts were exchanged before he took off and I chased after him. He led me pretty far from Edo, I chased him for a full day before I finally lost all trace of him, so I headed back. When I finally came within a couple of miles of the village I caught his scent again, so I raced after it. I finally found him at the Bone Eater's well and we engaged in battle. At one point I managed to get the Tessaiga back, and when I did I used the Wind Scar. When the debris from the attack cleared I noticed I had accidentally took out the well along with the wolf." Inuyasha said with a sigh. Sesshoumaru gave his brother an odd look, he didn't understand why it mattered that the old well was taken out but he decided to stay quite until his brother was finished.

"I went back into the village and noticed everyone was gone and I couldn't pick up any trace of them. The next morning was when I finally ran into Kikyo, Sango, and Miroku. Kikyo told me everything that happened. She told me about the battle with Naraku and how Shippo and Kirara died in battle. She also told me that Kagome found out about our mating, and between finding that out, as well as losing her son, she snapped. They said that she started attacking everyone, it didn't matter who it was. She also still had the jewel and was currently on the run from them." Inuyasha grimace and his ears laid flat against his head, he couldn't help but feel partly responsible for what happened. If only he had been there during the battle then perhaps thing might have gone differently.

"So, you took your mate's words for what happened? Did it ever accrue to you that she might have been lying?" Sesshoumaru asked before letting out a sigh in irritation. If the miko was lying to him, Inuyasha wouldn't have caught it. Between the two of them, Sesshoumaru knew that the miko had more control in the mating and Inuyasha just proved him right.

"No, asshole, I didn't just take Kikyo's word for it. I didn't want to believe that Kagome would have ever done such a thing but Sango and Miroku confirmed Kikyo's story as well." Inuyasha growled out and watched as his brother looked over at Inukimi. She gave his brother a nod before Sesshoumaru looked back at him again. Inuyasha's brows furrowed slightly in confusion but ignored it for now, choosing to speak again.

"After they told me all that, I went with them to look for Kagome. It was clear that she had become a threat to others. By that evening, we finally had her cornered at the edge of the cliff. I asked her for the Jewel but before she could say anything, Kikyo shot her with an arrow. Later Kikyo told me that she heard Kagome whispering a chant, so she took action before Kagome could do any harm. Kikyo believes that was when Kagome cursed all the youkai because we couldn't find the jewel after that." Inuyasha said with a sigh as he finally finished his story.

"Did you hear the miko saying a chant Inuyasha? This one thought the miko was responsible for the attack on the 7 villages as well, when did that happen?" Sesshoumaru asked as he glared at his brother's figure.

"I don't know when exactly she killed the villages but we felt her power laying thickly throughout the area when we passed though them on our way back. And no, I didn't hear her whispering but why would Kikyo lie to me? I'm her mate, you know, she only wants to help! If she was the one responsible then why would she help us all these years." Inuyasha growled out in anger at his brother, his mate wasn't the bad one here. Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose and grunted in irritation. His brother hadn't been lying but his story wasn't adding up either. There were too many things that didn't sit right and he knew he needed to interrogate the dead one to get any real answers.

"Where has your mate gone, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru decided to ask instead. He watched as his brother's brow furrowed in thought before he shrugged. "I don't know, she probably went somewhere safe and it was a good thing too considering how you are acting." Sesshoumaru glared at him before speaking.

"Inuyasha, the only way we can find out the truth is if we talk to her. One of the mikos are lying and we need to find out which one." Sesshoumaru said and waited for Inuyasha to hopefully give him the answer he needed.

"I don't know, ok. I have know idea where she went." Inuyasha huffed and this time it was Inukimi how decided to speak up. "Inuyasha, she your mate. You should be able to sense where she is at. What direction do you feel her in?" Inuyasha looked at Inukimi in confusion but decided to see if he could feel his mate's aura. After a moment of searching, he came up with nothing.

"I don't feel her at all." Inukimi looked at Inuyasha strangely as he told her this. If they were truly mated then he would be able to feel some kind of connection to her. "Inuyasha, are you sure you two are really mated?"

Inuyasha glared at her. "Of course were mated! I would think I would know since I put my mating mark on her neck." Inukimi sighed as she thought about it. 'Was it even possible to mate a dead woman?' She supposed it didn't matter, he couldn't feel their connection either way. All three fell into silence, all lost in thought. A couple minutes went by before Sesshoumaru decided to break the silence.

"Let this one ask you something Inuyasha, not as you Lord but this time as your brother..." Inuyasha's ears perked up as he finally looked up to stare at Sesshoumaru, his eyes slightly widened as he listened. Their relationship has always been a rocky one but over the last 60 years, Inuyasha would like to think that they at least made some kind of progress. It was most definitely not a perfect one but it was one he didn't want to lose, and to hear his brother refer to himself as family to him gave him hope that he hadn't lost it yet. "If your mate is indeed responsible for all of this, if she is in fact the cause for all this death and destruction... Who's side will you be on? Will you stand by my side, or hers?"

Inuyasha's ears folded back again as he bowed his head in thought, and this time he really thought long and hard about what his brother asked. He had always loved Kikyo, and if he was honest with himself, had she been the old Kikyo he would without a doubt choose her side but... Over time he noticed that something was completely different about her. That warm, kind woman he fell in love with still hadn't come back like he thought she would. He thought that after Naraku's defeat and when they were finally together again, then everything would go back to how it use to be. But instead she remained cold, distant, and he even noticed that she had become quite manipulative to others. But he still wouldn't believe that Kikyo could be the one responsible for this... But he also struggled to believe that Kagome could either. He didn't know what to believe anymore. But if Kikyo was indeed, somehow, in someway the one to who caused all this then... Inuyasha looked back up at Sesshoumaru before nodding his head.

"If she is responsible, then you can count on me to stand next to you as we take her down."Sesshoumaru studied his brother for a moment before nodding. Sesshoumaru sent out a small flare of his aura to summon Koga, who was standing outside the door of his study. The three of them watched as Koga entered the study before Sesshoumaru spoke again. "Inuyasha, if your mate contacts you in anyway, you are to immediately tell this one, understand? As for now, General Koga is going to keep an eye on you until we get to the bottom of this."

Inuyasha snarled as he stood up. "I don't need a babysitter! You can trust me, I won't leave!" Sesshoumaru glared up at his brother before he spoke, his tone quickly turned to ice. "You don't have a choice, this is for your safety, as well as the safety of everyone else here. Do not disobey me Inuyasha." The two brothers stared each other down for a good long minute before Inuyasha grunted in fury, then stomped out of the study. Koga turned to follow Inuyasha but before he could step out, he paused when he heard Sesshoumaru speak.

"Koga, you told this one that their was a soldier that was healed by a dragon during the battle before you caught the miko. This one heard that he is no longer cursed, is this true?" Koga turned to fully face Lord Sesshoumaru and nodded. "Yes, my Lord. The dragon not only healed Yori's incinerated leg but he also has no traces of the curse left either." Sesshoumaru looked down for a moment in thought. Perhaps the miko wasn't the only one who could cure the curse... But he had no doubt that those dragons were apart of the army she was talking about and that made his decision clear. 'I have to talk to the other members of this World Council.'

"One more question, General Koga... You knew Miko Kagome for a long time, do you think she is capable of this curse?" Sesshoumaru watched Koga as he thought about his question and he noted that the wolf didn't have to think long on it. "Honestly my Lord, no... I don't think Kagome would do something like this. She has always been a loving and kind person, and she probably has the purest heart that I have ever encountered." Koga told him solemnly and Sesshoumaru nodded, dismissing him. Once he left, Sesshoumaru got up and headed to the door as well.

"Where are you going, Sesshoumaru?" Inukimi asked as she watched her son curiously. Sesshoumaru paused in step but didn't turn around. "To this one's room, I would like some time to think. There will be a meeting with the other Lords in the morning, this one will speak to you afterwards." And with that said he left the study to head to his room.

As he walked, he lost himself in thought. Thinking, of all things, about the miko. He didn't know her well, he never bothered to put any effort into getting to know her and why should he? She was weak and insignificant at the time. But even he could emit to himself that he didn't think she was capable of this either. But he knew better than most what loss and heartache can do to a person. Sesshoumaru stopped outside his door and gently laid his palm against the wood. With a bright flare, his barrier went down and let him inside.

Once the door fully shut he finally allowed his figure to slump. The pain in his chest intensified and he brought his palm up to lay over his heart. He could feel it beating erotically and slowly he made his way over to his bed before sitting down on the edge of it. It seems like he will have to rest tonight, it was getting harder and harder to push himself anymore, he couldn't even stay up for more than 2 days in a row without needing a break. Pain crossed his face as he slowly brought is hand down and he let out a small growl in frustration before it turned into a weary sigh. After a moment, Sesshoumaru looked to his right, staring at the figure that laid in his bed. Sadness over came him, temporarily making him forget about the pain of the curse. Reaching a clawed hand out, he gently let his palm cup the young woman's face. He watched briefly as her chest slowly rose and fell as she took each breath. He couldn't help but wonder for the umpteenth if his daughter would ever wake up again.

'Rin...' Perhaps it was best that she was in a eternal slumber.

* * *

A lone figure stepped through the swirls of black and purple wisps before the portal slowly shrunk into nothing. The moon was high and was the only light source that filtered through the bare forest that she now stood in. Lifting a delicate hand, Kikyo slightly brushed her finger tips across the scaly hide of her serpent Shikigami. She only had one left, but that was all she needed. She had come to realize rather quickly that the stronger Kagome got, the stronger she got and because of that she didn't need as many souls to sustain herself. Letting her arm drop, Kikyo looked up and observed her surroundings. The tall mountain that stood ominously before her was Mount Hiba, which was located in the South.

Slowly she began to walk up the path that was before her and it wasn't long before she had the option to continue forward or take a left, without hesitation she chose left. Soon the path began to thin and the over brush of the dead forest took over, hiding a long lost secret that many had forgotten about. Kikyo paused in step as she reached the Southern face of the mountain. To anyone who didn't know better, it looked like a flat rocky wall, But Kikyo did know better and without any hesitation she sent out a small pulse of her power. Slowly a small part of the wall began to fade, reveling the mouth of a cave. As she began to approach the entrance, a slender figure stepped out of the shadows to block her path. The light clanking of beads were heard as the woman walked and that immediately told Kikyo who the figure was.

"Ashanti, why are you here? You were told to stay in the West." Kikyo asked the Cobra as she scanned her figure with narrow eyes. The woman in question stepped forward, letting the moonlight shine on her naked figure.

"Our dark lord wishes to speak to you." Silence fell between the two women for a moment before Kikyo slowly began to walk forward and entered the cave. It wasn't long before the two females entered into the main chamber of the cave and with a quick snap of her fingers, Kikyo watched as the torches that aligned the wall burst into a bright violet flame, lighting the whole area. Looking around briefly, Kikyo quickly spotted what she was looking for and made her way over to the chest. Slowly she began to peel the miko garb she was wearing off her body before digging through the chest to find something else to wear.

Ashanti silently watched the dark champion as she undressed herself. Taking small notice of the shimmering symbols that ran along her spine before glaring at the woman that was taking her sweet time in redressing, making her master wait. "Hurry up... The master hates to be kept waiting." She finally hissed out, her patients coming to an end. Kikyo threw a dark silk robe over her figure before turning to glare at the snake.

"He can wait a few more minutes, you may leave now." Kikyo told her coldly, making it apparent that Ashanti was dismissed and the cobra hissed in outrage. "I do not take orders from the likes of you, champion. You can not be trusted. You have five minutes before I decide to drag you there." Ashanti told her before she made her way out of the chamber, heading to a tunnel that lead further down into the belly of the mountain.

Kikyo scowled as she watched Ashanti finally leave her to her peace, then slammed the lid of the chest shut. She hated that snake, hated her just as much as she hated her master. They were right in thinking not to trust her though because she wouldn't hesitate to fuck them over if the chance ever presented it's self. Slowly Kikyo turned and one by one she slipped her small feet into her zori sandals before making her way down the same path that Ashanti went. Only a couple of minutes passed before she reached her destination. The chamber was lite up, showing richly decorated chests that were filled with all sorts of finery, but what laid in the middle of the chamber was the most intriguing of it all. A obsidian statue of a beautiful woman stood tall. Her arms were stretched out on either side and her face was looking upward. The statue was almost as beautiful as the woman it represented, and it stood right above the very spot the woman was buried at. Ashanti was found bowed down before the statue as gently cleaned the dust off of it.

Kikyo walked passed the statue without another glance as she made her way over to a large mirror that was propped up against the caves wall. Candles were glowing all around it and a small purple cushion was placed in front, facing the mirror. Slowly Kikyo knelt down on the cushion before looking up and glaring at her reflection. It only took a minute before the mirror swirled with a black and violet mist, making her reflection disappear but replacing it with a different one.

Akuma... Oh how she hated that name. She hated all his names actually, and she will curse his name for the rest of eternity. The man, no god that stared back at her was the one responsible for her disgrace. His thick black wavy hair fell about his shoulders in long silky strands. His blood red eyes didn't even try to hide his amusement as he stared back into her scornful ones and the only thing he wore was a familiar white baboon cloak that he seems extremely reluctant to part with. Slowly Kikyo's thin pale lips stretched into a sneer and in response he let out a chuckle.

"Kikyo, how good of you to finally grace me with your presence. How have you been?" The god asked with a smirk and waited for her to reply. Kikyo's glare intensified. It was because of him that everything in her life had fallen apart. She was once destined for great things but because of him it ended before her journey could even start. Kikyo looked down at her clenched hands that laid on top of her lap as she lost herself in thought.

125 years ago the Shikon Jewel had chosen her as it's protector, which started her divine journey as the champion of light. She was already known to be a highly powerful miko at the time, and she had no doubt that she was ready for the journey she had been selected for by the gods. But then she met Inuyasha, and he was the first step to her downfall. Deep down she knew that falling in love with him would cause her nothing but pain, and oh how right she had been.

Onigumo was the second step in her demise. Looking back on it now, she wished she would have left his burnt corpse to rot. If she hadn't of helped him then he never would have become obsessed with her, therefore he never would have got the chance to be manipulated by Akuma. The fool thought he was selling his soul to a demon but in reality it was someone so much worst. Akuma, who had yet to select a champion of his own, saw an opportunity in Onigumo and acted on it. Sending a group of his own Shikigami to take over and posses the foolish human, morphing him into a puppet that Akuma could control from the underworld and from that point on he wrecked terror all across Japan, starting with her. Doing what he does best, Akuma manipulated Inuyasha and herself into betraying each other, which ended with her death. But of course that wasn't enough to satisfied Akuma, so he pulled her soul to hell and kept her by his side to torment.

It wasn't until 50 years later that Akuma's attention was slightly taken away from her, once a new champion of light had been chosen to hopefully start the journey she was suppose to take. Kagome, the clumsy girl hadn't the slightest clue as to why she was pulled back in time. Ignorant to her true purpose and a small challenge entered into Akuma eyes as he watched her stumble about. It didn't take long for a plan to formulate in his mind and again, she was thrust back into the divine war but this time as the dark champion.

Despite what her younger sister believed, Kagome was not her reincarnation, but they did have something in common and it was because of this similarity that she was able to be brought back into the living world. All champion's souls were created different than any normal human soul and because of this only another champion's soul could be used to bring her back. Akuma knew this, so he sent Ashanti out to capture the new champion under the disguise of a crazy old witch, and just like that she was given a small amount of freedom away from the dark god. What Akuma didn't account for though was the pure strength and power of Kagome's soul and it was because of that mistake he failed in killing her. Now she was stuck taking other souls to sustain herself but she was temporarily ok with that because since Akuma's attention was taken away from her, she was able to come up with a plan of her own. The jewel was back, and Kikyo realized that she had a chance to turn that into her favor, with the jewel she could bring herself fully back to life and take her rightful place as the champion of light.

Unfortunately for her though, it didn't take Akuma long to figure out her plan and so the hunt for the jewel shards begun. Again, with every step she took, Akuma ended up five steps a head of her and it gave her no choice but to seek the help from the inutachi, starting with manipulating Inuyasha to help her cause. All was going well until Akuma told her what the jewel really was. While the jewel could indeed grant power beyond what anyone could imagine, it is not something that could grant a wish, so it wouldn't turn her clay shell into living flesh. The jewel was actually a tomb for two previous champions, one of light and one of dark. Midoriko and Magatsuhi... Two champions that failed in ending the divine war. As they battled over the first book, Midoriko used her power to create the jewel, locking the two souls inside the small babble along with the amulet and the book of flames. Now the jewel had become a part of the quest.

Kikyo had become furious, her plan thrown into the wind. That was until Akuma told her that only with Kagome's death could she truly become alive again since she already had a portion of her soul. So her plan shifted, deciding to finally team up with the dark god in order to get what she wanted, only until she becomes alive again, of course. So another plan was set into motion, working together, they tricked the inutachi into one more battle that was suppose to end it all. Once everyone met up in Edo, Fenrir was ordered to steal Tessaiga, sending Inuyasha on a wild goose chase. Eva would bring the sword to Ashanti who would then pose as Inuyasha in the final battle and Yami would take control over the monk and slayer, manipulating them as needed. Everything was going perfectly until Sesshoumaru showed up. The strength the Daiyoukai displayed piqued Akuma's interest and in a quick moment of thought, Akuma made a decision and he ordered them to kill the puppet.

Confused at the time, Kikyo obeyed. Only to find out later that Akuma decided he wasn't done playing with her yet, as well as stating that the Inu Lord would make an excellent addition to his Generals. So the curse begun, and Kikyo was left to finish off Kagome herself which proved to be more difficult than she thought. Despite being able to manipulate the inutachi, her plan still failed. The jewel had decided that it would also go against her and ended up bringing the brat back to life before she could pull the soul back to her. Now she was stuck waiting, as well as forced in the position of the dark champion, their was no redemption for her now. She had gone too far in her quest to gain her glorious position back and all that was left was hate.

Kikyo looked back up again to sneer at the god but other than that she chose to remain silent and he chuckled. "Very well, I see you are in no talking mood. That's alright, we will have plenty of time for that later. Ashanti?" Akuma looked over at his most faithful General and waited for her to walk forward.

Ashanti quickly walked over to kneel next to Kikyo and bowed. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Head back to the West and finish what Kikyo started, I want Sesshoumaru's soul no later than the end of this moon cycle. Also, make sure to keep an eye on the champion of light. Our champion will be staying here for the time being." Akuma told her in a bored tone as he watched the two in front of him.

"Yes, my Lord." Ashanti whispered before getting up to leave, ready to carry out her master's orders. Akuma turned his gazed back to Kikyo and smirked. "You my dear, will be staying here until the champion of light gets her final book, then you will make your move." With one last sinister smile, Akuma's face disappeared before Kikyo could say another word. Quickly she got up, getting ready to bolt for the entrance of the cave but before she could take two steps a wave of dark energy washed over her and settled over the cave, locking her in.

Kikyo let out a scream of rage as she swiftly turned around and grabbed a flaming candle, throwing it with all her might at the mirror causing it to crack in several different places. Glaring at the cursed thing with all the hatred she could muster, Kikyo silently vowed that she will get her revenge if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

Akuma silently chuckled to himself, he had to admit, Kikyo was by far his favorite soul to torment, it was a shame that she will soon out live her purpose. He was going to miss her once he left this awful place, it was so hard to find amusement here. A pair of small slender hands brought him out of thought as they began to rub his shoulders. Slowly he closed his eyes and let his head fall back, fully enjoying the massage he was getting. It was only a moment later when he felt a pair of soft lips kiss under the right side of his ear and a feminine voice soon followed.

"Has the time come, my love?" Akuma sighed before he fully opened his eyes to look up at the female behind him. She was beautiful, a goddess in every right, and she was worth leaving this place for. He would do everything he could to make her every desire come true.

"Soon, my heart... Soon we will both leave this place, and soon you will have the heavens and earth bowing down at your delicate little feet." A beautiful smile crossed Izanami's lips as she leaned down and pressed her lips to his. "That would please me most, my dear Enma."

* * *

AN: Ok so to clear some things up a little bit, Akuma and Enma are the same person. You will hear both names in this story. Akuma (Which translates to Devil or Demon) is a nickname so to speak for Enma in this story. The gods are going to refer to him as Enma though because that is his real name. For those who are not familiar with Japanese Mythology, Enma is the god of the underworld and he judges the dead. He would be equivalent to Hades in Greek Mythology so to speak. Now, Izanami is the Goddess of creation and Death. Shikigami, who are referred to as gods of death as well, are more like reapers. I hope that clears that up a little bit, it can be confusing to those who don't know much on Japanese Mythology.

* * *

(Mythology Facts)

*Izanami- Was the first goddess and sister/ wife to Izanagi (The god of creation and life). She gave birth to many gods but died when she gave birth to Kagu-tsuchi (God of fire). Izanagi then went to Yomi (the underworld) to bring his wife back. Once he found her, she told him she ate the food here and couldn't leave but she would talk to the ruler of the underworld to see if she could, all she asked was that he didn't look upon her form. Izanagi became impatient though and lite a fire to look at her, Izanami became enraged and Izanagi fled. Izanami told her husband that everyday she would take 1,000 souls because of this and Izanagi told her that he would create 1,500 souls everyday in return. Well that's the short version of it anyway. There is more to the story if you wish to look it up. It is believed that she was buried on Mt Hiba.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 14**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D  
Until next time!

-Peach


	15. Souls Of The Powerful & A Decision Made

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. I love hearing all of your feed back! I apologize for the long wait but unfortunately work got in the way again... And I am sad to say that the next chapter more than likely will not be up until the end of September (Sept. is a busy month at work for me) but I will try my hardest to update this as quickly as I can. Further more I would like to ask again, that if any of you have questions about the story then please ask them under your username so I may respond to it. I will no longer be answering questions in my author notes. Thank you! Anyways, make sure you all read the recap as well as the OC list to refresh your memory. I hope you all enjoy! :D

* * *

 **Original Characters: (The OCs in this Chapter)**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Kazenosasayaki- Guardian of Wind/ Trial of Truth (Eagle)

*Byggvir (Pronunciation: Big-veer)- Prince of Scandinavia, General of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Jarl Ragnvaldr (Pronunciation: Rag-val-dur)- Lord of Scandinavia (Lightning Dragon)

*Lord Durai- Lord of India (Bengal Tiger)

*Lord Nazar- Lord of Russia (Wolf)

*Lord Omari- Lord of Africa (Lion)

*Lord Acahuana- Lord of South America (Snake)

*Lord Wanageeska- Lord of North America (Fox)

*Lord Neptis- Lord of the 7 Seas (Water Elemental)

*Lord Ryuunosuke- Japanese Lord of the North (Dragon)

*Lord Shin- Japanese Lord of the East (Bear)

*Lord Daichi- Japanese Lord of the South (Tiger)

*Lord Jin- Chinese Ambassador (Panda)

* * *

Recap of Chapter 14: Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha have a talk, only to find out that not everything is as it seems. Both brothers have come to realize that they have been trick but by who still remains a mystery. One Miko is lying, but the question is which one? Kikyo travels back to her hideout only to be trapped by Akuma. Her past has been revealed and now she plots, but against who exactly?

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Souls Of The Powerful And A Decision Is Made**

* * *

Kagome paused the moment she sensed that she reached her barrier. Slowly the foot steps that followed behind her faded as they stopped, Saisei and Nisshoku glanced at each other before looking back at Kagome.

"Kagome?" Nisshoku questioned, wondering why she stopped instead of going through her barrier.

Kagome remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. The moment the Lords were aware of her return she knew she would be bombarded with questions, and rightfully so... She also knew that not one of them would be pleased with her. She had told them that she would be gone no longer than a week, she broke that promise, almost a month has past. God, they were going to be furious... She will be lucky if they ever let her out of their sights again. The Guardians watched as Kagome's head tilted back and heard her release a small groan."Damn... I'm in so much shit."

Saisei and Nisshoku gave her a startled look before a smirk crossed Saisei's lips and Nisshoku let out a small chuckle. They watched as Kagome straightened her posture before moving her head to look over her right shoulder to look in their direction. They didn't need to see her eyes to know that she was sending them a death glare from under that cloth, the grimace that took over her normal plump lips gave it away. Kagome let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. She lost herself in thought for a moment as she stared at her two Guardians.

"Can you do me a favor? When you go in there try to remain out of sight. I don't want them to know I am back yet... I need a bath and if they see me like this then they are going to be even more furious at me then what they are sure to be as it is." Kagome said as she looked down at the dirty, dingy miko garb that she was still wearing. Not even the dark cloak she had on could hide the filth, her once white haori was now brown and you couldn't even tell what color her hakamas once were. Kagome's nose scrunched up in distaste, she smelled horrible and to her that was unacceptable. She watched as her two Guardians nodded their head in understanding.

"Well then, little one, we will see you inside when you finally decide to come out of hiding." Nisshoku said with a chuckle and Kagome gave out an impressive growl, but before she could get another word out, a bright light consumed them. When it finally faded, Kagome looked down to see a onyx colored wolf sitting before her. A small squawk that came from above her told Kagome that Saisei had transformed into his true form as well but in a smaller size.

All three stared at each other for a moment before Nisshoku got up with a nod and went through her barrier, Saisei soon followed after him. That just left Kagome, standing alone on the other side. Relaxing her shoulders a bit, she took a deep breath, pulled her reiki tightly to herself to hide it before pulling the cloth off from around her eyes. Glancing forward once more, she gave out another sigh before walking through the barrier.

The difference was drastic, the forest outside was cold and dead. Everything was muted and darkly colored, but once she stepped through her barrier everything became vibrant. It was almost startling, going from one to the other. It only took a couple of moments before she broke the forest tree line and came to a small field of wheat. The area used to be a massive garden, Kagome assumed it was a garden meant for flowers instead of food but it was hard to tell because it was dead when she had gotten here. Whatever it was used for prior didn't matter because she decided to turn it into a garden meant for food growth. While the food that she planted and helped grow wasn't very nutritious to youkai, she figured it could help a little bit, plus, her main reason became clear when she heard about the humans. She knew they were hurting for food just as much as the youkai were and with this massive garden that she created here she would be able to use this in her favor and hopefully come to some kind of peaceful agreement with them. If she was lucky, perhaps even an alliance, the more reiki wielders in her army the better.

As she walked, Kagome stretched out her left hand to hover lightly over the tips of the wheat as she continued onward. A small smile touched her lips and she let all her worries fade from her mind for a moment. The wheat was growing beautifully and she couldn't help but wonder if her other plants were doing just as well. Gardening, as well as painting, were the only two things that calmed her mind and soul, and Kagome decided after all the hell she had been through this past month, she believed she deserved an hour or so in her garden to relax herself.

Once she reached the end of the wheat field, Kagome turned left and enter into the part of the garden that was brightly colored and filled with greenry. Checking the tomatoes first, she slowly did a walk through and made several small stops to pull some weeds but it wasn't long before she stopped completely. Looking down at herself, she sighed. She had to get herself cleaned, as much as she wanted to continue to work in her garden and relax, she couldn't do it until she cleaned and changed her clothes... The smell was really getting to her. With a sad sigh, Kagome turned around and headed towards the Shiro, unfortunately she knew that once her presence was known then she wouldn't get a chance to come back out here.

Instead of going through the front entrance of the Shiro, Kagome decided to go through the the back entrance that was found connected to the kitchen. She knew that this entrance was her best bet considering that they had brought no cooks or servants with them. So you can imagine her surprise when she walked in only to run into a small figure. Quickly Kagome's reflexes kicked in and she grabbed the woman's arm to steady her, then froze. Blue eyes met green and the two women were stunned as they looked at each other.

"My Lady, I am-" Kagome quickly put her hand over the woman's mouth and brought her finger up to rest against her own lips to indicate she was to be silent. Quickly looking around the room in a frantic manner to see if their was anybody else in the room, she slightly relaxed her shoulders when she was sure that they were alone. Kagome turned back to face the woman but made sure to keep her eyes focused on the woman's neck, avoiding making eye contact. Thankfully she hadn't stared at the woman long enough to get pulled into her memories. After some much practice and mediation, Kagome discovered that she was able to make brief eye contact with people but only for about 60 seconds at the most before she starts getting flashes.

Gently Kagome released the woman's arm and sighed. The woman in question had spoken Russian to her, so she knew that she must have been one of Lord Nazar's servants. "Forgive me, this one has been away for awhile and hadn't expected to see any servants. May this one ask why you are here and not back in Russia?" Kagome gently asked the wolf demoness, easily switching to speak in perfect Russian so the woman could understand her. The woman in question bowed before answering.

"Lord Nazar sent for me and the others, my lady... My Lord had requested us to travel here to help with the upkeep of the palace." Kagome sighed and brought her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Of course, because kami forbid the Lords fend for themselves for a little while, she hadn't brought any help because their safety was more important. Well it was too late now, they were already here.

"How many of you traveled here?" Kagome asked and the woman looked down in nervousness. She could sense Kagome's ire but spoke a moment later to answer her question.

"Ten of us, my Lady. Two cooks and eight servants... One for each Lord, as well as one for you." The demoness answered before looking back down at her hands and patiently waited for Kagome to speak.

Kagome sighed again and nodded, glancing at the woman briefly, Kagome noticed her nervousness and spoke to soothe her. "Do not worry, this one is not mad at you. What is your name?" The woman relaxed visibly and Kagome smiled.

"Katja, my Lady." The woman said softly as she gave a brief bow.

Kagome nodded before asking another question. "Katja, did you learn Japanese by any chance?"

The woman looked up and shook her head no, causing Kagome to sigh, she supposed that was ok. She was hoping that she could get information on her two other guest here but Katja wouldn't have been able to understand them, She will just have to check on them herself.

"Ok, that's fine but this one needs you to do an important favor for me. Can you do that?" Kagome watched as the woman nodded and she smiled. "Don't tell anyone, and I mean anyone, that this one is here. This one wishes to have a bath before meeting with the Lords, ok." Kagome watched as the woman brightened up immediately and nodded her head in understanding.

"Of course, my Lady. I will go and get everything prepared for you." Kagome smiled and thanked Katja warmly before the woman scurried off. Once she was out of sight, Kagome relaxed. Kagome waited about five minutes before she discreetly opened the kitchen door and peeked outside. Carefully looking down the hall, Kagome made sure that the coast was clear before sneaking out. Her footsteps were light, making absolutely no noise as she continued down the hall. She paused briefly at the staircase and strained her hearing to try and detect any sound heading her way. Rustling came from down the hall and with quick reflexes, she crouched down into a shadowed corner, effortlessly blending into the shadows and disappeared completely. She waited patiently for two of her soldiers to pass by before she came out of her hiding spot and quickly climbed up the stairs. Normally she would use her flame portal to get to her chambers but with her being so close to the other lords she didn't want to take the chance that the fluctuation of her powers would alert them.

Slowly Kagome continued to creep down the hall, dodging and blending her way to her chambers. The moment she closed her doors she sighed in relief. Briefly she closed her eyes and relaxed her body before taking a step back and turned around. Slowly Kagome made her way to the enchanted hot springs that were attached to her room. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome caught a glimpse of her reflection in a mirror that she passed and stopped. Her eyes widened as she slowly looked herself up and down. She was an absolute mess, she was covered head to toe in dirt, her hair looked like a rat's nest and had pieces sticking every which way. A light blush dusted her cheeks before a light growl passed her lips. Well at least she had her hood up, that alone saved her from being absolutely mortified. With a shake of her head, Kagome continued her path to the bathing room.

Heat hit her the moment she stepped into the room, and she could feel the magic that flowed thickly around the man made hot spring as it brushed up against her. Excitement raced through her at the prospect of sinking into the heated watery depths and her lips broke into a smile. Quickly Kagome began to disrobe, it didn't take her long to stripe out of her miko garb and as she stepped into the heated pool of water, she silently promised herself a nice long soak.

An hour passed before Kagome was finally able to pull herself out of the hot spring. It had taken her a good 35 minutes just to scrub all the dirt from her skin and completely untangle her onyx locks. She was damn near a prune when she finally stepped out and made her way into her chambers. After quickly drying off, Kagome reached into her closet and picked out a deep red yukata before putting it on. The yukata had a solid black design of a sakura tree on the left side and it's black petals swirled across the length of it. The obi she picked out was golden in color, but instead of tying it the proper way, Kagome decided to just wrap it around her slim waist and tied it in a simple bow making it look more like a robe instead of a proper yukata.

Next she walked over to the big mirror that rested against the wall on the left side of the room and Kagome looked herself over. She felt and looked a 100% better, although she knew she would get some odd looks because of the way she was wearing her yukata, she quickly decided that she didn't care and that she would do what she pleased. Besides, this was more conservative then some of the other clothes she had, there were many cultures that wore a lot less than this. The thought made her silently chuckle to herself as she sat down on the plush blue cushion that was placed in front of the mirror. Picking up her brush, Kagome began the daunting task of combing her hair. It was so long now, reaching down past her rear, it became a chore to just untangle it. After about 20 minutes of brushing it, she began to tie the top half of her locks into a bun, leaving the bottom half down. Putting down her brush, next Kagome picked up her favorite kanzashi. The hair stick was black in color and at the end of the stick was a red lotus with a small chain that dangled from it, attaching a smaller red lotus that would sway as she she moved. Carefully she tucked the hair ornament into her bun, making sure that it was secure before looking over her reflection again. Whispering a short chant, Kagome watched as her enchanted cloth untied itself from around her wrist before it fluttered up and tied itself over her head, covering her bright blue eyes. The rune symbols glowed brightly for a few seconds before they dimmed down again, indicating the spell was now active.

The sound of her chamber door opening and shutting snapped Kagome out of thought. Looking over her shoulder, Kagome sat frozen, waiting to see who it was that entered her room without her permission. A young demoness shortly came into sight. Her silver hair was put up into a delicate bun and she wore a simple blue kimono. She carried a stack of books in her arms and Kagome silently watched her as the demoness looked around to find a place to put them. It wasn't but a moment later when Kagome finally got a look at the mysterious woman's face.

"Umeko?" Kagome questioned out loud and watched as the demoness's head whipped around to stare in her direction. Violet eyes widened as the demoness finally realized who was sitting on the other side of the room. It only took her a moment of staring before Umeko dropped to her knees and bowed.  
"Lady Kagome, forgive me... I didn't know you had returned." Umeko said frantically before glancing back up to look at the High Priestess.

"It's quite alright Umeko. You may stand." Kagome softly told her and watched as the Inu demoness did as she was told before Kagome asked her next question. "Umeko, what are you doing here?"

Kagome watched as the young woman looked down nervously before she glanced back up again. Kagome couldn't help but be even more curious as she watched Umeko's strange behavior. She met Umeko for the first time about 25 years ago, she was one of maybe 50 Japanese youkai that had decided to chase down what had to them been a rumor of a safe haven for the youkai kind. After she found the Kibo no Machi, Umeko was brought to Kagome to be cured. After spending some time together, Kagome found out that Umeko actually came from a noble clan. Umeko told her that she had heard a rumor about the Kibo no Machi from a merchant and told her father and mother about it but they refused to believe it was true. Against her parents wishes, Umeko decided to chase the rumor down herself.

"I came so I could be of use to you my lady." Umeko finally said out loud and patiently waited for Kagome to speak. She wasn't sure how Lady Kagome would act with her being here, she was suppose to stay in Russia for her own safety but she couldn't resist the chance to help... Or the chance to see her family again. Coming to the Kibo no Machi was difficult for her at first. She came all by herself and she quickly realized that her family's name meant nothing in the new place she called home. She had no important trade to use to her advantage and had no choice but to start from the bottom and work her way up. That was how she came to be in Lady Kagome's services. She had gotten a job as a servant in the Lotus Shiro, which was the Shiro the Asian Overlord would reside in once they found a Lord for it. It didn't take long for Kagome to take a liking to her and once she did, Lady Kagome decided to help Umeko out. Kagome taught her a great many things, especially about different languages. She learned everything she could from Kagome and after about 6 years of hard work, Lady Kagome finally offered her a job to become a teacher to others, a role she readily accepted. It was through Lady Kagome that she met her mate as well. Slavik, her mate, was the Holy Shield General of Russia. Which was another reason she decided to travel back home, she recently found out that she was pupped and her instincts were pushing her to be close to her mate.

"I understand that you want to help Umeko, but it isn't safe here. We haven't even been able to secure an alliance with the Japanese Lords yet." Kagome told Umeko with a small sigh.

"My Lady, I may be able to help with that. As you know, I was born into a noble clan. My parents are members of the Western court. My mother has good favor with Lady Inukimi and perhaps I can help by speaking to my mother." Umeko said as she gave Kagome a hopeful look, she really hoped that Lady Kagome didn't make her go back and she knew her only chance of staying was if she could be of use.

Kagome stared at Umeko for a long moment as she lost herself in thought. She knew that Umeko was from a noble clan but she hadn't known that they were a part of the Western court. This could work in her favor, especially if Sesshoumaru decided to be difficult. Perhaps she could get his mother on her side. "Umeko, tell me about Lady Inukimi. What is she like?"

Umeko's brows furrowed as she thought about Kagome's question. "Well, Lady Inukimi is powerful, the most powerful demoness in Japan without a doubt. She is a very proud woman but she would sacrifice everything for the safety of her people, although she was never really fond of humans... But despite that, I believe she would make a good ally to you my lady." Umeko told Kagome with baited breathe, still unsure if she would be able to stay or not.

"Very well..." Kagome said with a nod as a plan began to formulate in her head. "You may stay for the time being but the moment things start to become dangerous you and all the other civilians are getting on the first ship and going home." Kagome finally relented and Umeko gave out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you my Lady." Umeko said and gave a bow in gratitude.

Kagome gave a nod back before moving on to her next question. "Umeko, do you know where our guest are?"

A look of confusion crossed Umeko's face as she thought about the question. "Are you talking about the two Japanese soldiers my lady?" Kagome gave a nod as she waited for Umeko to continue.

"They are staying at the very end of the hall, would you like me to summon them for you my lady?" Umeko watched as Kagome stood up and started to walk towards the door.

"That will not be necessary Umeko. But if you would be so kind as to bring us our evening meal I would appreciate it. Please bring it to the guests sitting room." Kagome softly told her as she opened her chamber door before looking over her shoulder to glance at Umeko. "And Umeko... No one knows that I am back yet, so lets keep it that way for a little while longer ok." Kagome watched as Umeko gave a nod and Kagome flashed her a smile before walking out the door.

The fluttering of silk could be heard as Kagome made her way down the hall. It only took her a few minutes to reach her destination. As quietly as she could, Kagome opened the door and went inside before silently shutting it. Two deep rich voices could be heard speaking to each other in Japanese, telling Kagome that she made it to the right place. Silently she walked down the small hall before stopping at the open doorway. Leaning against the door frame, Kagome observe the two that sat before her. The two males sat across from each other, both leaning on the table that stood between them, whispering to each other.

"When do you think they will let us leave?" Kagome heard the blonde hair, brown eyed youkai whisper. If she remembered right, this one was named Eiichi and he was the Western soldier.

Kagome watched as the male with long black hair lean forward, his bright green eyes narrowed towards his companion before he spoke. "I don't know, I tried to talk to the Japanese servant that watches after us but the only thing she would tell me is that we will have to wait until the High Priestess returns." This one was named Saburo, the Eastern soldier. Kagome scanned his figure, he looked 100 times better than the last time she had seen him and that pleased her greatly, that meant that they had ate well during her absence.

Both men sat in silence for a few moments before Eiichi spoke again. "What do you think this High Priestess is like? Do you believe she is as kind and fierce as Umeko had said?"

Saburo picked up his cup of wine and took a swig before he chose to answer. "I don't know but it would take one hell of a woman, especially a human, to be able to gather this much support. She has seven Daiyoukai and their army backing her. I would hate to be the one facing against them in battle."

Eiichi took a swig of his own wine as he gave a nod in agreement. "Indeed."

A smirk crossed Kagome's lips and it was at this time that she chose to make her presence known. "It wasn't all that hard considering we all had a common enemy." Kagome watched as both men whipped their heads around to glance at the doorway.

Saburo and Eiichi slowly scanned the woman that stood before them. She was beautiful for a human, her long black hair was done in a simple but elegant style. Her complexion was fair, her eyes were covered by a white silk cloth that had strange symbols marked into it. Her yukata was made of silk and richly colored but both noticed that it was put on in a lazy manner, she didn't even have any footwear on and her delicate feet were left bare. They could tell that she felt right at home in this place. But what surprised them the most was that she was Japanese, they were expecting the High Priestess to be a foreigner. The question they both had running through their mind was how did this little human accomplish everything she had?

Kagome took a step forward before she slowly began to make her way around the table. She paused briefly, standing directly behind Saburo and let a tendril of her reiki reach out to inspect him. She watched as the neko youkai stiffened but other than that he didn't move and an amused smile cracked her lips. "No worries Saburo, this one will not harm you." Kagome reassured him before pulling her reiki back once she was finally satisfied.

Saburo was taken back at how bold the little human was but he was even more surprised that once she pulled back her reiki he could no longer feel her powers. That told him that the miko behind him had great control over her powers and he couldn't help but wonder how strong she truly was.

Slowly Kagome began to walk again, this time making her way to stand behind Eiichi and she watched him as he stiffened as well. A chuckle escaped her lips this time, she hadn't even inspected him yet. Leisurely she let a tiny tendril of her power to come forth again and inspect the golden inu. Both men couldn't help but feel like they were being stalked, which seemed silly to them considering who the would be predator was.

Kagome hummed in satisfaction, both youkai were strong and healthy and that pleased her greatly. Making her way back around to the front of the table again, Kagome was snapped to attention as the door of her guest's chambers opened. The three of them watched as Umeko and Katja walked in with a tray of food and a pitcher of wine. Kagome gave the two a calm smile as she watched the two walk forward and set the food down on the table. Kagome gracefully sat down on the plush cushion that was placed that the head of the small table.

Umeko and Katja silently began to deal out the food they brought. Umeko placed a plate of cooked venison, a bowl of salad, and a small bowl of fruit in front of Kagome before Katja poured her a cup of wine. Eiichi and Saburo looked down at their plates, both had chunks of raw venison, as well as a bowl of salad and a bowl of fruit like the High Priestess. Although they really didn't need the fruit and vegetables like the High Priestess, they both decided that they would eat it anyway. It had been years since they had eaten as well as they had since arriving here, and they wanted to enjoy the fresh food for as long as they could. It most definitely beat what they had been eating back at the Western Shiro, most of the fresh food were left for the nobles.

Kagome took notice that both men stared at her, waiting for her to take a bite of her food and it caused her to raise an eyebrow. It surprised her that they did so considering this was the first time they met her but she wouldn't complain. They must have come to realize exactly what her station was. 'Smart men.' Kagome silently observed before reaching for her chopsticks, selecting a small piece of cooked venison before picking it up and placing it in her mouth. The moment she did, her guest began to eat as well.

"My lady, was there anything else we can do for you?" Umeko's asked in Japanese, bringing Kagome's attention to her.

Kagome glanced at Umeko first then looked over at Katja, both females waiting for her next instructions. "No, we should be fine for now... But if you two would be so kind as to gather Saburo's and Eiichi's uniforms and weapon for them, this one would appreciate it. Please make sure they are cleaned and ready for them by morning. We will be leaving at dawn." Kagome told them in Russian so that way Katja would be able to understand her as well.

Umeko and Katja both gave her a small bow before answering. "As you wish my lady." Then both females silently made their way to the door and left.

Kagome glanced back over at the two men she was currently dining with and noticed that they were looking at her in confusion. She realized then that neither of them understood what she had said so she decided to explain. "Umeko and Katja will be gathering all of your belongings for you. You should have your uniforms and weapons by morning." She told them with a small smile before lifting another piece of meat to her lips again. Both men nodded before looking down and continued to eat. The three of them ate in silence, and all three of them were lost in thought.

It was about 15 minutes later when Eiichi and Saburo glanced at each other before Saburo finally cleared his throat in order to speak. "High priestess, will we be leaving soon?"

Kagome glanced at the two for a moment before she spoke. "Yes, we will all be leaving in the morning. This one and the other Lords have much to discuss with your Lords. If all goes well, we all will become allies."

Eiichi perked up at this and decided to ask a question of his own. "If an alliance is made, will you and the Lords help us with the holy war?"

Kagome took a moment to pop a grape into her mouth and slowly savored the taste of it before she gave her answer. "Yes, if all goes well, but the holy war is the least of our worries at the moment. A far more dangerous war is brewing and we will need all the help we can get to win it..." Kagome paused a moment to take a sip of her wine before she continued. "But the first thing on the agenda is healing all of you from the curse. Only after that is done and settled will we talk about war strategies."

Eiichi and Saburo glanced at each other again in surprise, their food completely forgotten as more question raced through their minds. Eiichi looked back at the High Priestess before asking another question. "Saburo and I noticed that we no longer feel the curse, I take it that it was you and the Lords that found a cure for it?"

Kagome gave a nod and sent them both a calm smile before answering them. "Yes, this one found a way to cure it."

Both males lost themselves in thought for a moment, a worried frown soon crossed Saburo's lips as a thought struck him. After a moment, he voiced his worries. "What if the alliance doesn't fall through? Will you leave the rest of us to suffer?"

Eiichi frowned at the thought as well. Both he and Saburo had mates that were still cursed, and both of them knew all to well how prideful and stubborn their Lords could be.

Kagome cleared her throat to bring their attention back to her. Once both men were looking at her, she sent them another soft smile. "Have no worries, even if an alliance is not made, this one will not leave you all to suffer. If this happens, this one will give everyone the option to join us and heal all those that decide to follow. This one and the other Lords have a safe haven in place for all the civilians to take refuge while our army fight in the up coming war." Kagome paused again to take another sip of her wine before putting her cup down and picked up her napkin to wipe her mouth. Gracefully Kagome stood up before looking back down at the two who still sat before her, then continued to speak. "But let's not worry about that right now, all will work out in the end. Go on and finish eating. Spend the rest of your night relaxing because we will have a long day tomorrow."

Both men gave a bow of their heads before wishing the High Priestess a goodnight. Kagome gave them one last smile before telling them goodnight as well. Glancing out the window, Kagome took notice of the setting sun before letting out a small sigh. It was time to face the Lords, they had much to discuss before the sun rose again.

Leaving the guest chamber, Kagome took a right and made her way back down the hall. It took her a few minutes to reach the hall where all the Lords of the World Council were meeting at, and the moment she did, she decided to unleash her reiki. Her power flooded the Shiro, letting every youkai here know that she had returned. Kagome finally paused in front of the door that the Lords were currently behind and took note of the loud voices that immediately went silent at the presence of her power. It didn't take long before the door was ripped open. Kagome glanced up at the tall figure that stood in her way and took notice that it was Lord Nazar who was scowling down at her.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Kagome took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Well... Are you going to let me in?"

Lord Nazar frowned down at her before he let out a soft growl but none the less, he stepped aside to let her in. Kagome glanced up at him before letting a smirk cross her lips. "Thank you."

* * *

The sound of clinking echoed down the hall as Kagome made her way to Lord Ryuunosake's study. Her long black cape swayed behind her as she walked. Dressed in her onyx black dragon hide cloak and pants, her dragon glass armor was fit snugly over it. Her obsidian locks were braided into three parts before put up into an intricate bun with small silver beads placed throughout the strands. Her favorite lotus kanzashi peaked out on the right side of the bun to keep it in place. The ends of her enchanted silk cloth that covered her eyes was weaved into the bun as well, and last but not least, her silver circlet was placed on top of her head... Showing her place as the High Priestess.

Her leather gloved hands fiddled with the straps of her armor to check and tighten them. The closer Kagome got to the study the louder the voices became. Finally pausing at the door, Kagome looked herself over one last time before taking a deep breath and calming herself, once she felt ready, Kagome placed her hands on the door and opened it. The voices inside the study fell silent as she walked in. Looking around the now crowd study, Kagome took noticed of everyone that was here. The 7 Lords, her 7 guardians, her 7 Generals, Umeko, Lord Jin, as well as Eiichi and Saburo all stood inside and were looking at her.

Slowly Kagome gave a nod as she counted everyone, noticing that everyone had their armor on and their weapons by their side. She hoped that a fight didn't break out but she was unwilling to not be prepared for it. Plus the more intimidating they were the better. 25 sets of eyes stared at her as they all waited for her to speak.

"Is everyone prepared?" Kagome asked as she took one final glance around and watched as everyone nodded before giving a nod of her own. "Good, lets get this over with."

Everyone watched as Kagome slowly made her way to the long mirror that sat propped up on the other side of the room before they began to follow her. Pausing in step, Kagome turned around and spoke. "Umeko, Lord Jin, Eiichi, and Saburo, please step forward."

The four in question slowly approached Kagome, looking at her in wonder. Kagome waved her hand and motioned for them to come closer. Once they crowded around her, Kagome placed a barrier around her small group. "Stay close behind me, when you see me step through the mirror make sure you immediately follow or else you will be left here." Kagome told them and watched as the four of them nodded in understanding.

Taking one last look around, Kagome gave the rest a nod before she turned to face the mirror. Lifting her right hand up, Kagome placed it on the reflective looking glass before she started to put pressure on it. Everyone watched as her hand slowly began to disappear through it and slowly Kagome began to enter it. It only took a small moment for her to completely disappear. The four in her barrier looked at each other with wide eyes before Lord Jin cleared his throat, deciding he would go next. One by one, the other three followed. It wasn't until Eiichi, the last one in the High Priestess's barrier, disappeared that the others glanced back at each other.

Lord Ragnvaldr stepped forward and spoke. "Well you heard her, lets go."

On the other side of the mirror, Kagome watched as everyone entered one by one. She was happy to noticed that the Western throne room was empty at the moment, probably because the sun just barely broke over the horizon and she doubted the Japanese Lords would be in here so early. Turning around, Kagome watched as Eiichi and Saburo looked around in amazement. She figured that they were probably a little stunned at the fact that they were now standing in the Western Shiro and a small smile briefly crossed her lips before it faded to be replaced by a blank expression. Now was not the time to be carefree and soft, now more than ever she needed to be strong and demanding. Youkai respect power above all else after all.

It didn't take long for everyone to cross over through the mirror and once they did, Kagome watched as everyone began to take their places. The first thing Kagome noticed was Byggvir, she watched as he walked up the four steps that lead to the dais and began to remove the thrones. The sound of loud clattering brought everyone's attention to him and they all watched as he threw three of the four thrones into the right corner of the room before he placed the last throne in the middle of the dais. Kagome raised an eyebrow in his direction as he turned around to look at her. They stared at each other for a moment before Byggvir swept his arm out and motion for her to take a seat.

Kagome relaxed herself for a moment before she straightened her spine and confidently walked forward. Slowly she began to ascend the steps before she finally turned around and took her seat. Resting both her arms on the thrones armrests, Kagome lifted her right leg and crossed it over her left leg, making herself comfortable. Next she watched as her 7 Guardians took their place and lined up side by side. Saisei, Yuki, and Misuto stood on her right side next to the throne. While Nisshoku, Sasayaki, Inari, and Hikari lined up and stood on her left. With all 7 of them dressed in their long black cloaks, Kagome had no doubt that they alone looked very intimidating.

After her Guardians were settled, the Lords began to take their places. She watched as Lord Ragnvaldr, Lord Neptis, Lord Durai, and Lord Wanageeska lined up at the bottom of the dais steps on her right side. While Lord Omari, Lord Nazar, and Lord Acahuana lined up on the left side.

Soon movement caught Kagome's attention, looking to her left, she watched as Lord Jin, Umeko, Eiichi, and Saburo all walked to stand on the right side of the throne room, standing in front of the wall of mirrors. After a moment Kagome decided to speak up. "Eiichi, Saburo..." Kagome called out and waited for the two to look over at her before she continued. "Would you two be so kind as to tell your Lords that their presence is demanded in the throne room."

Eiichi and Saburo gave each other a nervous glance before looking back over to the High Priestess. Saburo cleared his throat before asking. "Demanded, Lady Kagome?"

Kagome let a small smirk cross her lips before giving him a nod. "Yes Saburo, make sure your Lords understand that they have no choice in this matter."

Eiichi took a deep breath and looked over at Saburo's stunned face. Oh this wasn't going to go well. Eiichi quickly tapped Saburo on the arm to catch his attention before both of them gave Kagome a small bow, then straightened back up and made their way out of the throne room. Once they left, Kagome focused her attention on her Generals. After a moment of thought, she began to call out to them and place them where she wanted.

"Kimoni, Zarok..." Kagome watched as the two bulky youkai turned to look at her. Kimoni was her African General. He was a large rhino youkai and was by far the biggest of her Generals. He took great pride in commanding her ground forces. Zarok was her Oceanian General, the octopus youkai was shorter than Kimoni but taller and bulkier than the others. He commanded her sea forces but also worked along side Kimoni when his men join the ground forces as needed.

Once Kagome had their attention she began to speak again. "Please step outside and guard the door. Make sure you place a barrier and let no one in except the four Lords." Kagome watched as the two General lifted their right fist and placed over the left side of their chest before bowing their head.

"Right away, my lady." They told her immediately before they turned and walked out the double doors. It was only a moment later when everyone else felt a barrier being placed around them. If the Lords didn't know of her presence before they did now. It would only be a matter of time before they showed up. Next Kagome Looked around before calling out to her next two Generals.

"Raj, Kajika..." Kagome waited a moment for the two Generals to walk forward. Raj was her Indian General and the tiger youkai commanded her healing forces. Kajika was her Native General and the fox youkai specialized in illusions and commanded her magic forces. Between the two of them, they made a formidable pair on the battlefield. Once they faced her, Kagome gave them their orders. "Stand guard at the doors as well but stay inside, if a fight breaks out you are to help General Kimoni and General Zarok, understand?"

Both men brought their fist up to rest on their chest before bowing their heads. "Yes, High Priestess." Kagome watched as they took their places before looking around again.

"Byggvir, Thiago..." Kagome called out and watched as the two approached. "The two of you will stand guard up here. Byggvir, please stand next to your father. Thiago, please stand next to Lord Omari." They both gave a bow to Kagome before doing as they were told. Turning to look at his father, Byggvir gave him a nod as well before turning to face forward, making sure to stand directly in front of Kagome. Byggvir was now the Scandinavian General and he commanded the aerial forces, which consisted of nothing but dragons. Thiago on the other hand was the Amazonian General. He was half jaguar and half shadow youkai, he commanded the recon forces and he took great pride at being one of the best spies in the whole army. He too had a similar shadow ability like Kagome and this made him near impossible to detect.

Kagome looked over at her last General, she didn't even need to call him out as she watched him step forward. "Slavik, please stand and guard Umeko and Lord Jin. This one is sure that your mate would appreciate you being close by."

General Slavik gave a bow before answering. "Of course, my lady." Kagome watched as the wolf youkai made his way over to stand in front of his mate and Lord Jin. He was Kagome's Russian General and he commanded her sentinel forces.

Moving her eyes forward, Kagome silently watched the double doors that stood on the other side of the room. Now that everything was in place, she decided that it was time to push this forward. Taking a deep breath, she briefly closed her eyes to calm herself. After a few moments, she slowly opened them again before she unleashed the hold on her reiki... Letting a wave of power wash over the Shiro.

* * *

Eiichi and Saburo swiftly walked through the halls, their nervousness ran rampant through them as they thought about their Lord's reactions to being demanded by the High Priestess. They both knew that this wasn't going to be good and they prayed that no blood would be shed because of their tempers flaring. They knew that their Lords were powerful but honestly, they couldn't match the strength of the High Priestess and her allies. Their Lords were still cursed and would have no chance in standing against them.

Both men paused as they finally reached the doors to the war room. Glancing at each other, both tried to urge the other one to go in and give the bad news but quickly came to realize that neither of them wanted to be the one to do it. Not that it really mattered anyway because it was only a moment later when they both stiffened as they felt a small amount of holy power brush against their own.

Saburo looked over at Eiichi before whispering to him. "She place a barrier... The Lords will know that she is here now." Eiichi gave a sigh before he took a deep breath. Looking over at Saburo, he mentally counted to three before he swung open the door and the both of them stepped inside. As they walked forward, they immediately took notice that the war room went silent. Four sets of eyes were glaring at them as they waited to see why they were interrupted. Saburo noticed offhandedly that the Lords were not getting up to inspect the holy power they had felt. Perhaps they had been too distracted to notice, after all, it was a very small amount power. The two soldiers were quickly brought out of thought as one of the Lords grew impatient.

"Well? Was there a reason you interrupted our meeting?" Lord Shin growled out as he glared at the two that stood in front of the doors.

"My Lord..." Eiichi began as he nervously looked over at Lord Shin. He immediately took noticed of the angry flare of his Lord's yoki and flinched back slightly. Just as he was about to finish his sentence, he paused again as a look of horror took over his features. Both Eiichi and Saburo felt an immense wave of power sweep through them and everyone in the room stiffened in stunned silence.

Eiichi swallowed thickly and because of his fear he couldn't bring himself to speak. So he silently thank Saburo when he heard the man quickly open his mouth to speak. "My Lords, the High Priestess demands your presence in the throne room."

The two of them watched in fear as Lord Shin and Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes began to turn red in rage. All four Lords swiftly stood up before making their way towards the doors. Saburo took notice that Lord Daichi and Lord Ryuunosake's eyes were not red but the two lords did not look pleased by any means. As soon as the doors of the war room closed, Eiichi and Saburo finally took a breath of relief and slowly the two relaxed.

"I think I need to sit down." Eiichi whispered and Saburo quickly nodded in agreement.

Sesshoumaru swiftly marched down the hall, making his way to his throne room. The other three Lords were just as quick to follow behind him. On the outside he looked calm and unaffected, truthfully he was anything but. The way his eyes flickered between red and gold was the only outside appearance that he was currently fighting to contain his rage. He felt his claws pierce the palm of his hands and a small growl escaped his lips. How dare that miko demand anything of him. He didn't care how bad they needed her help, she had not proven herself worthy of any kind of respect from him yet and even if she had, she still had no right to demand anything of him... He was a Lord, and a powerful one at that. Who was she? Nothing but a human with a small fraction of power compared to his own.

"How dare that bitch make demands of us!" Lord Shin growled out in rage. "I want her head for this disrespect!"

While Lord Daichi and Lord Ryuunosake looked upset as well, both chose to remain silent. It only took another minute or two until the four Lords turned to enter the hall leading to the throne room. Sesshoumaru paused in step as a couple of servants ran past them, heading in the opposite direction. Looking down the hall, the four Lords were not surprised to see the hall crowded. Their soldiers had their weapons drawn and were currently yelling at the double doors that lead to the throne room. Slowly the Lords began to walk forward, their yoki washed over their subjects which caused them to make room for their Lords.  
As Sesshoumaru got closer, he was finally able to make out two black armored men that were guarding the doors and another small growl escaped him. It wasn't long before he finally stood before the two men and just as he was about to step forward, a small clawed hand reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Sesshoumaru, what is going on?" Lady Inukimi asked as she grabbed her son's sleeve, making him pause in his pursuit.

Looking down, Sesshoumaru glared at his mother but none the less, he answered her. After all, she wasn't the one to have caused his rage this time and as the Lady of the West she had the right to know. "The miko is here." Was all he said before he looked forward again and approached the men at the door, pulling his sleeve from his mother's clutches.

Sesshoumaru coldly glared at the two youkai that stood before him and growled. "Move." The command was simple and to the point. A part of him wished that the two would deny him so he may get his claws dirty and quench his rage. But instead he watched the two youkai look at each other before glancing back at him. They all then watched as one turned to open the door and the other one lifted his hand up to lay it against the barrier. It wasn't until then that the Lords took noticed of the nearly invisible barrier that was in place to keep everyone out. The only indication that it was there was the slight pink shimmering effect that appeared periodically. A moment later, a gap appeared in front of Sesshoumaru.

"The High Priestess awaits." The tallest of the two guards said in perfect Japanese as he waited for the Lords to enter. Sesshoumaru continued to glare up at him heatedly but none the less, he began to walk forward. One by one the four Lords entered through the barrier and as soon as the last one was in, the barrier closed along with the door.

Inukimi walked forward and glared up at the two guards that stood before her. "This one is the Lady of the West and I demand entrance to my throne room." She watched as the two guards look at each other for a moment before looking back down at her.

"No one else is permitted." The guard to her left said out loud before she watched as they both looked forward again, refusing to say anything further. Inukimi let out a growl in fury before she lifted her delicate clawed hand and took a swipe at the barrier. She hissed as a shock of reiki jolted through her before she let her hand fall to her side. She will find a way to get inside.

Turning around, Inukimi growled at the soldier next to her. "Get Inuyasha, and tell him to bring Tessaiga."

* * *

The sound of the double doors opening brought everyone to attention. Tension hung heavily in the air as everyone watched the four Japanese Lords enter the throne room. Their yoki swirled around them in rage, which only caused Kagome to smirk. Kagome knew full well that her demand would cause an upset but she hardly cared. Her allies were right after all, she couldn't appear weak, more so now than ever. These youkai knew her as weak but what they didn't know was just how strong she had become. They had no idea how hard she worked, how much she sacrificed, nor did they have the slightest idea about everything she will have to give up in the end... everything she will give up for them.

Sesshoumaru slowly walked forward until he was about 15 feet from the dais then stopped. A small snarl crossed his lips as he took noticed of the three other thrones tossed in the corner. Taking a look at the throne the miko sat on, his cold glare turned murderous, she sat on _HIS_ throne... Was this some kind of joke?

A moment later Sesshoumaru felt Lord Shin walked up as he stood on Sesshoumaru's right, Lord Ryuunosake stopped on Sesshoumaru's left, and Lord Daichi paused on the other side of Lord Ryuunosake. All four Lords silently glared at the High Priestess and her allies, all four trying to reign in their anger.

Sesshoumaru hadn't expected the miko to bring so many to back her. He could easily figure out who the 7 Lords were, the youkai that were dressed in full armor told him that they were more than likely soldiers in her allies army. He recognized Lord Jin but he wasn't sure about the woman who stood next to him, but even she looked slightly familiar. What he didn't know was who the 7 cloaked figures were that stood behind the miko. He remembered that she had two of them with her yesterday though... And his instincts were screaming at him in warning for some reason. He could feel the power from everyone in the room except those 7 figures and the miko, and that made him cautious. He wasn't worried about the miko but he knew the cloaked ones would come to her aid. How was it that this miko seem to find so many to protect her? When was she ever going to stand on her own two feet and fight? The thought made him scowl in disgust.

"Have the four of you come to a decision about my offer?" Kagome's soft voice questioned as she decided to cut the tense silence that fell over the throne room.

Her question was answered by a deep feral growl as Lord Shin stepped forward. "Who are you to make demands of us? You are a weak little bitch, and we will never ally ourselves with the likes of you! Why don't you run along little priestess and let the Lords of true power discuss matters of great importance."

Growls of rage vibrated throughout the room as all 7 Lords along with the 5 Generals seethed in fury. The rage the foreign youkai Lords displayed puzzled Lord Shin but he made sure not to let his surprise show.

Sesshoumaru and the other two Lords silently observed the scene before them, mentally deciding to let Lord Shin dig his own grave. It would be no lost to them, not one of them liked the Lord to begin with. It would give them the chance to get a feel of who exactly is in power.

"Watch your tongue before this one decides to cut it from your vile mouth." Lord Nazar savagely growled out as his eyes turned red, taking the Japanese Lords by surprised. Not just by the fierceness in which the Lord spoke but by the fact that the Lord spoke and understood Japanese.

"Tread carefully Lords... You are standing before a united front. The last thing you all need is to make enemies with a force far stronger than your own." Lord Omari voiced as he too glared at the repulsive bear Lord that stood before him.

"Your army can't be all that powerful if it is being led by the likes of her." Lord Shin sneered, glaring at Kagome before continuing. "But we can help with that if you join forces with us."

"Our army is over a 100,000 strong and growing... Tell this one, how many do you all have put together?" Lord Ragnvaldr asked gruffly to no Lord in particular. Although an answer wasn't needed, he already knew.

"That is not including the High Priestess's Holy Shields... who are powerful enough to take out your small force by themselves. " Lord Durai added in a bored fashion. He couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for them to get down to business.

"Small force? They may not have any force at all if they refuse. Tell this one, how many of your subjects do you think will stay if you refuse this alliance? The High Priestess offers you all a cure for the curse, fresh food, and a safe haven for your people. Do you honestly believe that your subjects are going to turn that down?" Lord Neptis asked with a scoff. The way he looked at it, the Lords before him didn't have a choice. "Refusing will only leave you all Lords over nothing."

"And let us not forget the Demi Gods... " Lord Nazar began before being cut off.

"Enough..." Kagome demanded as she sent Nazar a glare. That information was meant only for the overlords. Nazar looked up at Kagome and gave her a halfhearted shrug, completely ignoring her glare.

"Let us stop the posturing." Kagome continued before looking back at the four Lords that they were trying to make an alliance with. "We are here to hopefully come to an alliance."

Kagome let herself get lost in thought for a moment, as everyone in the room became silent. If her plans were going to work then she needed everyone to get along. Lord Shin was clearly an obstacle in this, although Kagome knew the bear lord was never going to hold any power in the World Council so he really didn't matter. Strength wise, Lord Sesshoumaru would be the best candidate but his pride tended to get in the way of things. Intelligence was Lord Ryuunosake's strongest attribute, which would make him acceptable as well. As far as Lord Daichi, he was still a wild card in her opinion. So far, from what she could tell, he was extremely observant but he would need more than that if he wanted to be the Asian Overlord. So her best options were Lord Sesshoumaru and Lord Ryuunosake, unless Lord Daichi proves otherwise. But the true questions was how to bring everyone together? She will not always be here to play mediator.

She could honestly say that she didn't truly know any of these Lords, all she knew was what they allowed her to see... Which wasn't much. Perhaps she should start by asking, fish around for the information that she wants.

Kagome's gaze went forward again as she slowly looked over the four Lords. After another small moment of thought, Kagome made her decision. "This one is rather curious... What are all of your expectations in this alliance? What is it going to take for all of us to be able to work together?"

Everyone in the room turned their gaze to Kagome, every single one of them held confusion. What did it matter what they wanted? That was the question that most had running through their minds. After all, what the Lords on the World Council said were true... The Japanese Lords didn't really have a choice but to join, it was their only option if they wanted to survive.

"Lady Kagome-" Lord Acahuana began but quickly silenced himself when she raised her hand for him to stop.

After taking a deep breath, Kagome began to speak again. "If this is to work... If we are going to work together, then we need to find a common ground. Yes, we could force you to join but forcing you would not solve the tension. We all need to be on the same side if we are to win this war... So my question remains. What is it going to take for this to work?"

"For starters, we want her out of here!" Lord Shin growled out in disgust. "This one refuses to take orders from that little bitch!"

Growls echoed throughout the room but they were quickly silenced when Kagome raised her hand again. Giving out an irritated sigh, Kagome glared over at Lord Shin. She wasn't entirely surprised that he was the first one to speak.

"Why is that Lord Shin? What is so wrong with taking orders from this one?" Kagome asked with a weary sigh.

"Because your weak... All humans are. It matters not that your a miko, you will never compare to the strength of a youkai." Lord Shin sneered, ignoring the growls and glares he got. He will worry about making amends to the foreign Lords later after the weak bitch was out of the picture. Only then will he play nice.

The sound of soft ruffling grabbed the Lords attention and they all turned to watch Kagome as she stood up from the throne. Curiously, they watched as she slowly started to descend from the dais. When she was at the last step, Kagome laid a hand on Byggvir's shoulder. When he turned to look at her, Kagome tilted her head to the side to indicate that she wanted him to move. Once he was out of her way, Kagome slowly walked towards the Japanese Lords and she didn't stop until she stood before Lord Shin.

Silence hung thickly in the air as the two stared at each other. Well Shin wasn't sure what she was doing, he was under the impression that she couldn't see. Perhaps she was having difficulties with finding her way to the door. Just as he was about to say something, Kagome decided to speak again.

"Tell me Lord Shin, what makes you think that this one is weak? Is it because you assume that this one is human? Well then, let this one reassure you that this one hasn't been human for the last 75 years... But if it is proof of power that you want, then that can be provided." Kagome softly told him.

Lord Shin began to chuckle and just as he was about to say something, Kagome decided to cut him off again. Except this time it wouldn't be with words. Slowly Kagome began to unleash her power, just a little at first. She reminded herself that they were still cursed and she didn't want to seriously hurt them. She watched as all four lords stiffen at it's presence. She didn't have to worry about any of her allies, their connection to her protected them from being harmed. Off to the side of the room she felt Slavik summon a barrier to protect his mate and Lord Jin, and once that barrier was in place she decided to not hold back.

Raw power flooded the throne room, Kagome watched as the Lords clenched their fist to try and restrain themselves but Kagome wasn't going to allow that. Pushing more power out, it wasn't long before they began to growl. All four of their eyes started to bleed red but still she didn't stop. No, she wouldn't stop until she had all four of them on their knees. Power was what they wanted, so power is what they will get.

Lord Shin was the first one to give in, Kagome took great enjoyment in watching him slowly fall to his knees. Bringing more power down on him, she didn't stop until he was on all fours.

Lord Daichi was the second to fall, slowly he descended to one knee. Kagome glanced over and watched him as he struggled to keep his other leg from touching the ground, but he eventually lost that battle as well.

Five more minutes had passed before Lord Ryuunosake gave in, his decent was quicker than the other two. When he fell, he fell quickly with no more fight left in him to keep him going.

It wasn't a surprise to Kagome that Lord Sesshoumaru was that last one standing, he was after all the most powerful one of the four. Kagome turned her focus to Sesshoumaru and slowly studied him. His claws pierced his palms, his blood slowly dripped from his hands and fell to the floor. His eyes were blood red and were glaring down at her fiercely. His fangs were clenched and the sounds of his deep growls sent shivers up her spine... And still he stood, in a proud stubborn stance, refusing to bow. This was exactly why Kagome knew that he would be the one to take the Asian Throne.

Taking a step closer, Kagome pushed more power towards him. She knew that if she couldn't get him to fold and respect her power, her station... Than this will never work, because if he did become the Asian Overlord then his pride will destroy all that they worked so hard for and once cured, he would have the power to do it once she was gone.

Kagome's eyes watched as a bead of sweat begin to roll down his right temple. His breath quickly started to labor, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Soon his mask began to crumble and pain took over his beautiful features. His head soon began to bow a little, causing his long silver locks to fall forward and he slightly hunched over but still he stood... Still refusing. Kagome's brows crinkled in confusion, she knew how stubborn he was but something seemed off. Looking over him once more, Kagome tried to figure out exactly what it was that seemed to be wrong. It took her a moment but once she found it her eyes widened in horror. Immediately Kagome withdrew her powers and the moment she did Sesshoumaru began to waver and Kagome reacted.

"Saisei!" Kagome called out in a panic as she lunged forward to steady the Inu Lord. As soon as she wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's waist he began to collapse. Thankfully Saisei appear next to her and caught them both before Sesshoumaru could hit the floor. Gently Saisei set the two of them down and as soon as he let them go Kagome scrabbled to sit up.

Frantically Kagome looked over Sesshoumaru's still form. Offhandedly she could hear the three lords next to her began to cough loudly as they tried to recover from the heavy weight of her powers but she ignored them for now. Gently Kagome summoned a small tendril of her power and used it to scan Sesshoumaru's body. The curse pulsed inside him, rapidly it began to consume what little of his soul that was left and Kagome knew that if she didn't act now then he wouldn't make it. She realized that it was only through the pure power of will that he was able to stand against her powers for so long and because of it he strained what little power he had left... The idiot. Quickly Kagome turned and scrambled to sit on her knees before turning to face Sesshoumaru.

"Saisei, help me take his armor off." Kagome ordered as she began to untie the straps that held the bone armor in place. It was only a moment later when she saw Saisei's hands working on the straps on the other side.

Soon the armor was lifted and tossed to the side and Kagome quickly placed her hands on Sesshoumaru's chest. Closing her eyes, Kagome began to push her healing powers into his chest. Slowly at first because she didn't want to throw his body into shock. Soon she filtered more powers into her hands, making sure to watch his body for any signs of trouble. It could be a dangerous thing when it came to mixing reiki and yoki.

After about 30 minutes of healing, Kagome's arms began to shake. His yoki was getting stronger but not fast enough. His soul was massive, she hadn't even healed half his soul yet and it was at that moment that she realized that she wouldn't be able to heal him fully in one sitting. It was going to take her days, perhaps weeks before she would completely succeed. Slowly her elbows gave in and Kagome collapsed on top of Sesshoumaru's chest but she still refused to stop healing him. She didn't know why, but for some reason she couldn't let him fall to this darkness. He needed to survive this because she knew that she was going to need his strength in this upcoming war. His pride be damn, she will find a way to make him understand... He had to, because once she was gone he was probably the only one that could make the future she saw in her visions come to light. He was the only one that would have the strength to do it, she just had to make him see that. Kagome felt a hand touch her shoulder which caused her to glance up.

Saisei was looking down at her with a concerned look on his face. "Kagome, you need to pull back your powers. Your beginning to weaken."

This only caused her to weakly try and shrug his hand off. Sesshoumaru wasn't strong enough yet, she couldn't stop until he was. Sluggishly she looked back at Sesshoumaru's face, she noticed how relaxed it was at the moment and she couldn't help but relax herself. Her eyes soon began to get fuzzy as her reiki began to wane, she was losing her sight. It was only a moment later when her eyelashes began to flutter from underneath the cloth, then slowly they fully closed and her power receded. The slow rise and fall of his chest had done well in putting an end to her fight.

Lord Ryuunosake slowly approached to two that were lying asleep on the floor. Carefully he used his yoki to check on Sesshoumaru's health. He had become worried when the stubborn pup collapsed. He had promised the pup's father that he would look after him before he died. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Sesshoumaru was stronger than what he was before they came into the throne room. 'So the miko could save them after all.' With that last thought, Lord Ryuunosake came to a decision. The pup could be mad at him all he wanted when he awakens but he was sure that this was the correct choice.

Glancing over his shoulder, Lord Ryuunosake spoke out for the first time since this meeting began and his words were straight to the point. "We accept your alliance."

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 15**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D

Until next time!

-Peach


	16. A Healing Soul

**A Tale of Souls & Swords**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

* * *

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. Sorry for the long wait, I was suppose to have had this chapter posted last Saturday but I am currently having problems with my laptop. For whatever reason, it doesn't want to connect to my wifi. So with that being said, I ask that you forgive me for any of the mistakes you may find. I had to retype this chapter on here with my phone, which took me so long to be able to do, so there may be more mistakes than normal. Initially this chapter was longer but I decided to put the rest of it in the next chapter because it would have taken me another couple of days in order to finish it. Which wouldn't have been a problem accept I really need to send my laptop in to get it fixed. I held off on doing so this pass week so I could retype this chapter. As far as the next chapter, I can't say when it will be up. I gotta figure out what's wrong with my laptop first. I will try to type by using my phone but it could take awhile. I may work on my other stories first since I keep those chapters short. Hopefully I can get this fixed soon so that way I can get the next chapter up soon as possible for you guys. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Feel free to review and let me know what you think. :D

* * *

 **Original Characters:**

*Saisei- Guardian of Fire/ Trial of Courage (Phoenix)

*Misuto- Guardian of Water/ Trial of Patience (Sea Serpent)

*Nisshoku- Guardian of Shadows/ Trial of Loyalty (Wolf)

*Yuki- Guardian of Ice/ Trial of Humility (Snow Leopard)

*Hikari- Guardian of Light/ Trial of Justice (Dragon)

*Inari- Guardian of Life/ Trial of Selflessness (Fox)

*Kazenosasayaki- Guardian of Wind/ Trial of Truth (Eagle)

*Byggvir (Pronunciation: Big-veer)- Prince of Scandinavia/ General of Europe (Lightning Dragon)

*Lord Ragnvaldr (Pronunciation: Rag-val-dur)- Lord of Scandinavia/ Europe (Lightning Dragon)

*Lord Durai- Lord of India/ Middle East (Bengal Tiger)

*Lord Nazar- Lord of Russia (Wolf)

*Lord Omari- Lord of Africa (Lion)

*Lord Acahuana- Lord of South America (Snake)

*Lord Wanageeska- Lord of North America (Fox)

*Lord Neptis- Lord of the 7 Seas (Water Elemental)

*Lord Ryuunosuke- Japanese Lord of the North (Dragon)

*Lord Shin- Japanese Lord of the East (Bear)

*Lord Daichi- Japanese Lord of the South (Tiger)

*Lord Jin- Chinese Ambassador (Panda)

*General Slavik- General of Russia (Wolf)

*General Thiago- General of South America (Jaguar/ Shadow)

*General Kimoni- General of Africa (Rhino)

*General Zarok- General of the 7 Seas (Octopus)

*General Raj- General of Middle East (Tiger)

*General Kajika- General of North America (Fox)

*Umeko- Mate of General Slavik/ Kagome's handmaiden/ Member of the Western Court

* * *

 **Recap of Chapter 15:  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: A Healing Soul and His Tightly Kept Secret  
**

* * *

Saisei let out an irritated sigh as he looked down at the two sleeping bodies lying on the floor. 'Now what?' He thought as he narrowed his eyes at Kagome. This wasn't how this meeting was suppose to end and now no one was sure what to do. While he was happy to know that an agreement had been kind of made, he also knew that they needed to get Kagome out of this room and somewhere safe. He wasn't for sure if they should go back to the Northern Shiro or ask for a room here. After another moment of thought, Saisei finally made a decision. Leaning down, Saisei picked Kagome up bridal style before looking over at Lord Ryuunosuke. "Hey dragon Lord... You got somewhere she can sleep?"

Lord Ryuunosuke looked over at Saisei with a confused look, it was clear that the tall cloaked figure was talking to him but he glanced around just to make sure. Once he saw that everyone was looking at him, clearly waiting for an answer, he sighed. Looking over at the two sleeping figures, his eyes narrowed in thought. A minute or two slipped by before he felt a hand touch his right shoulder which caused him to look over. Lord Daichi gave him a worried glance and it caused him to grimace. They both knew that letting the Miko stay here was going to cause some trouble but what choice did they have. Details still needed to be discussed but in order for that to happen both Lord Sesshoumaru and the Miko needed to be awake. With a deep sigh, Lord Ryuunosuke realized that since Lord Sesshoumaru was currently unconscious, their was only one person that could fully make this decision. With that thought in mind, Lord Ryuunosuke turned around and headed towards the double doors. Everybody watched as he swung the right door open before he peeked outside.

Lord Ryuunosuke blinked a couple of times in surprise as he looked at the scene before him. Looking to the right, then glancing to the left, he took small noticed that the two bulky armored youkai seemed to be amused by the ruckus going on before them. Looking forward again, Lord Ryuunosuke had to speak up and ask. "What are you two doing?"

Inuyasha and Lady Inukimi stopped their bickering for a moment to look over at the Northern Lord. A moment passed before Inuyasha huffed, then spoke to answer Lord Ryuunosuke's question. "Keh... I'm trying to explain to her that my Tessaiga won't break the barrier!" Lord Ryuunosuke glanced down and took noticed that the Tessaiga was glowing a bright red before he remembered that it had the ability to break through barriers but he too was slightly curious as to why it couldn't break through this one.

"Inuyasha, how could you know if you don't try?" Inukimi asked as she shot Inuyasha a small glare.

"Because it's a _holy_ barrier, Inukimi! My sword can break through a youkai barrier but not a holy one!" Inuyasha growled out as he pointed to the barrier that kept them apart from the others.

Lord Ryuunosuke watched as the two started their bickering again before he shook his head, they really didn't have time for this. Clearing his throat loudly to gain everyone's attention and once he had it, he spoke again. "General Inuyasha, please put away your sword, it is no longer needed. Lady Inukimi your presence is needed in the throne room, we need-"

"No." General Kimoni gruffly stated, cutting off the Lord's sentence without remorse. "We have strict orders to let no one in except the four Japanese Lords."

Lord Ryuunosuke lifted a brow as he glanced at the tall youkai that stood on his right. "This one understands but she is now needed. She is the only one that can make the upcoming decisions regarding our agreement."

Lady Inukimi gave Lord Ryuunosuke a sharp look before a worried frown crossed her delicate lips. The only reason her input would be needed was if her son couldn't make the decision and with this thought, her eyes widened. "Has something happened to my son?"

Lord Ryuunosuke grimaced as he thought about how he was to tell her before he finally decided to tell her in a simple way. "He has collapsed, but he will be ok." At least he hoped but he decided not to add that, he didn't need her in a frantic state.

Inside the throne room, Saisei began to get impatient. He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible, Kagome needed to rest and the longer they were kept waiting, the angrier he got. "Just let them in General Kimoni!"

The General leaned in to take a look around at everyone in the room before glancing at his Lord for conformation. Lord Omari gave a small nod of his head telling Kimoni to do as he was told. Once he had the permission he was seeking, Kimoni turned around to face the barrier. Lifting his right hand, he gently placed it against the barrier and everyone watched as a hole slowly began to form, allowing Inuyasha and Inukimi to walk through.

Inukimi wasted no time, with quick stride, she entered her throne room. Pausing briefly to look around, it only took her a small moment to find her son. Seeing him lying on the floor, unmoving, made something in her chest tighten painfully. Quickly she stepped forward, although she made sure not to run, running would be unlady like. She was careful to keep her face blank, it would be unwise to allow the foreign lords to see her in a panic. The moment she reached her son's side, she elegantly knelt down beside him. Lifting a small dainty clawed hand, she laid it over her son's chest and was relieved to feel him breathing. Inukimi allowed a little bit of her yoki to rise before letting it run over her son. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt her son's yoki respond hers, he was stronger. Granted he wasn't cured, but he was stronger than he was yesterday. His pulse thumped strongly under her hand which caused a small smile to break across her plum colored lips and she let out a small sigh of relief.

A deep growl brought her out of thought, causing her to look up at the tall cloaked figure that was standing before her. She took immediate notice that he was carrying a small body, holding it closely to his chest in a protective manner. There wasn't much that she could see of his feature, but a deep shiver ran down her spine as she noticed his onyx colored eyes, which was strange that he had no pupils and it gave him an almost out-worldly appearance... A dark appearance. Slowly she stood up to face him and that was when she noticed that he wasn't growling at her, he was growling at something behind her. Turning her head, Inukimi looked over her shoulder and saw Inuyasha standing slightly behind her before she turned to look back at the darkly cloaked figure.

The whole room was silent and Inukimi took a moment to look around the room, everyone was staring at her. Looking back in front of her, she took a long hard look at the small body that the cloaked figure was holding. The protective hold that he had on her gave Inukimi a pretty good idea on who exactly that was but she couldn't be a hundred percent sure. "Is that her?" Inukimi asked before she stared back up at the dark figure. "Is that the Shikon Miko?"

Saisei took his eyes off the hanyou for a brief moment to look at the inu demoness that stood in front of him. He was silent for a moment as he looked her over. "Yes, she is the High Priestess... As well as the God's chosen Champion."

Lord Ryuunosuke slowly approached and didn't stop until he stood by Inukimi's side. Lifting his hand, he gently rested it on her shoulder to grab her attention. "Lady Inukimi, since your son is currently indisposed, we need you to make the upcoming decisions. Our new allies, would like to rest until their High Priestess is awake-"

"Not just _our_ High Priestess, she is _your_ High Priestess as well. This comes with the new alliance and is non negotiable." Lord Wanageeska told them calmly and everyone turned to stare at him. A deep rumbling growl echoed out and caused Inukimi to look over at Lord Shin, she was surprised though that he remained silent even though it was clear that he was displeased by what the foreign lord had said.

Lord Ryuunosuke cleared his throat again but gave the fox Lord a nod of understanding before he corrected himself. "This one apologizes, _our_ High Priestess and Lord Sesshoumaru need to rest until we can further discuss other details."

Inukimi looked back at the Miko as she lost herself in thought. She knew what they wanted, but she was hesitant. She had no idea what had been discussed before she walked in and quite frankly she wasn't even sure if the foreigners could be trusted. Yes, she was all for this alliance still but she hadn't been around any of them long enough to decide if she could take the chance on trusting them or not. Normally she would have asked her son for his input on things since he was the only one she fully trusted, but that was impossible at the moment.

Everyone was silent as they waited for the Western Lady to come to a decision. On the other side of the room, one figure thought that perhaps it was time for her to step in, she knew that she could be of help here. Umeko leaned over and whispered to her mate to drop the barrier before she began to walk forward. Clinking steps soon followed behind her and she knew that it was her mate following her closely. With her being pupped, this didn't surprise her... His instincts would demand this of him so she decided not to say anything against it. Umeko continued to walk forward until she was standing in the middle of the throne room and stopped. "Lady Inukimi..." Umeko paused as she waited for Inukimi to look over at her before she continued. "I assure you that these Lord's, as well as my lady, can be trusted. They are all here to help." It was at that moment when Umeko realized that she had to make a very important choice... And it only took her a moment to make her decision. Umeko straightened her back and took a deep breath before she gave Lady Inukimi a small brief bow, then straightened back up to look over at her _former_ Lady. Typically one of her station would be expected to bow deeply before their ruling Lord and lady, then they were expected to wait until they were given permission to rise, but to another Lord and lady that was not your own, a small bow was acceptable, unless you were told by your Lord or lady to serve them for a time being... Which she currently wasn't.

"Umeko?" Inukimi's eyes widened, for multiple reasons. The first being that her dear friend's daughter was alive. The second being the very noticeable round bulge of Umeko's stomach, indicating that her friend's daughter was pupped. Using her yoki, Inukimi reached out and inspected Umeko. To her amazement, she couldn't find any trace of the curse in her. This told Inukimi that her thought about the curse being the cause of her subjects not being able to procreate were true. Inukimi tore her eyes off Umeko to look over at the Miko again as the rumor she had heard began to run through her head again. Hope ran through her once more as it became clear that these rumors were not rumors after all, her friend's daughter was proof of that. Umeko's brief bow didn't escape her notice either, nor was her reference to the Miko as being her _lady_. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn't for sure how she felt about that but decided to pushed that to the back of her mind for now, other things needed her attention but there was something she had to ask. "How? Everyone thought you had died, Umeko. Your parents suffered in their grief at the Loss of you"

Umeko looked down in guilt, she had known that her disappearance would hurt her family but she knew that it would be worth all the hurt if she could find the Miko who could cure them all and convince her to come here. She just didn't think it would take them this long but she understood that these things took time. What was it that her Lady like to always say... Rome wasn't built in a day. Lady Kagome had explained to her what Rome was, as well as told her that all great accomplishments took time and patience. Now she was here, she was home and she was doing just what she had set out to do... And she will not fail. If there was anything that Umeko learned from her Lady was that no matter what, she needed to be strong and fight for what was right, as well as what she believed in... And she had faith in her Lady's vision. The Vision of peace and unity, and she will do everything she can to help Lady Kagome reach that goal. Umeko looked back over at Lady Inukimi, searching her eyes briefly. She could see pain there, and if Lady Inukimi was in pain then she knew her parents were as well. "How are they? Are my mother and father doing alright?"

Inukimi grimaced slightly but gave a slow nod. "They are alive... But they are hurting. Everyone is hurting."

Umeko gave a nod of understanding, she remembered how much the curse hurt but she assumed that it was probably worse for them, they have endured it far longer than she had. Taking a deep breath, Umeko slowly let it out before she spoke again. "Well, Lady Inukimi, we are here now and my lady will not allow any of you to suffer any longer... As long as you all agree to the alliance."

Inukimi gave a slow nod before glancing at the Miko again. If anything, she was even more curious about this High Priestess that so many were fond of. She couldn't help but feel a little giddy as well. They will finally be strong again, she will make the hurt disappear. Looking back over at Umeko's stomach, another thought struck her... Her son could finally get his Heir. Of course that will take a little bit of convincing on her part but she believed he was finally ready. Both he and Lady Hanami had plenty of time to heal from their last attempt but now, they will not have to worry about another failure. Although, she knew that Lady Hanami will not agree unless her son mated her this time. 40 years ago, she had managed to convince her son into producing an heir, since he vehemently refused to take a mate, and so he had agreed to breed with her dear friend's daughter, Lady Hanami. The golden inu demoness was one of the strongest females in the land, as well as a beauty in her own right. So she groomed her, teaching her everything about being the Lady of the West. Inukimi had hoped that once Hanami was pupped, then her stubborn son would finally understand what it would be like to have a family of his own and how good it felt, thus tempting him to take Hanami as his mate... But unfortunately, that wasn't to be. Lady Hanami ended up miscarrying during her second moon cycle and Sesshoumaru refused to try again. She knew the lost had hit him hard, so she had decided not to push. He had just started to get warmed up to the thought of being a father only to have it taken from him. She had hoped that perhaps he would have warmed up to Hanami during this time as well but he only treated her as he did everyone else... With cool indifference. Inukimi gave a small shake of her head as she brought herself out of thought, first she needed to focus on this alliance before she began to work on her son's future mating.

The first step to this would be to see to their new allies comfort. Looking around, Inukimi counted everyone that was here and realized that the West wing wasn't big enough to hold everyone comfortably. Inukimi didn't think it would be wise to put any of them in the Eastern wing since Lord Shin didn't seem to pleased with this right now but she was sure the others wouldn't mind it... The only question would be if the Miko would mind all her allies being spread apart from her. Honestly, she highly doubted it. It was only a moment later when another thought struck her and Inukimi turned around to face Inuyasha.

Inuyasha for his part wasn't paying attention. His golden eyes were glued to Kagome's still form and for the life of him, he couldn't stop staring. Guilt shook through him, why did he feel guilty you might ask... Well, because for the first time he fully realized that he had been so terribly wrong and not only had he been wrong, he also should have known better. How many times had Kagome thrown herself in danger to save him or one of his pack mates? Too many to count he realized solemnly. Looking around the room, he finally took in all the support she had gathered, all the _youkai_ support none the less. It had taken him centuries to finally gain recognition from the youkai society and yet she accomplished it 75 years. He shouldn't have been all that surprised though, she always had the ability to attract so many to her, human and youkai... And here he was, just now realizing how big of a fool he truly was. She had always put herself in danger to save those she cared about, hell... She did the same for strangers too, her saving his brother proved that, she truly hadn't changed. She was still filled with light and pure intentions, nothing about her was dark as he first had thought. Granted he still didn't think his mate had anything to do with the curse but he also knew that Kagome didn't either. Kagome's heart would never have been dark enough to cause this curse and deep down, a small part of him had always known that. The clearing of someone's throat snapped Inuyasha out of thought and caused him to look up. He noticed that Inukimi was looking at in with a contemplating look and brought his full attention to her.

"Inuyasha... Would you be apposed to our new guest taking resident in your mother's small Shiro?" Inukimi asked in a worried tone. The Shiro had been given to Inuyasha when he had earned the title of being the Western General but he had never used it, preferring to stay in the main Shiro, but since it was officially his, only he could give them the permission to use it.

Inuyasha gave the request a moment of thought as he looked over at Kagome again. His mother's Shiro had been built right next door to the main Shiro. It was smaller than the main Shiro but still big enough to hold all their guest comfortably. His father had built it years ago for his mother's own comfort since she had been uneasy around the youkai subjects and had been left abandoned ever since she had fled to return back to her home. Contemplating for another minute, Inuyasha looked back over at Inukimi before giving a nod and everyone watched as a bright smile crossed her purple lips.

"Excellent! This one will send servants over there right away to clean up the Shiro and prepare it for your stay. We have some rooms that all of you can rest in for a couple of days until then. Hopefully the High Priestess and my son will be up so we can all discuss things further." Inukimi said as she looked over at the foreign Lords. She watched as everyone nodded in agreement before she looked back over at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, will you please grab your brother and take him to my room so he may rest." Inukimi then looked over at the darkly cloaked figure that was still holding the miko and addressed him next. "If you will follow me, this one already has a room prepared that she can stay in."

Saisei cocked an eyebrow but none the less, he nodded. Looking over at the other Guardians, he nodded to them and watched as they all approached before all seven of them began to follow Inukimi out the door.

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the room, casting it's comforting light upon the sleeping figure. Kagome's eyes scrunched up briefly before they slowly began to open. Blurry blue eyes looked around the room as she slowly sat up and it wasn't long before she spotted Yuki sitting on a plush cushion in the right corner of the room. Looking down again, Kagome pulled back the thick fur that covered her slender figure, only to notice that someone had changed her. Instead of her normal black battle suit that she came here in, she was now wearing a white silky sleeping yukata. Hesitantly, Kagome's right hand came up to touch her right temple only to discover that she wasn't wearing her enchanted blindfold. Looking around, Kagome searched the room to look for it before Yuki's voice grabbed her attention.

"Check your wrist High Priestess." Yuki hummed softly, her voice filled with light amusement.

Looking down, Kagome sighed with relief as she spotted the long piece of cloth. Whispering softly, Kagome repeated a chant that would activate the spell before waiting patiently for the cloth to wrap itself around her eyes. Once secure, she looked over at Yuki and gave her a sleepy smile. "Thank you Yuki, I'm not quite awake yet." Kagome watched as Yuki gave her a nod before she pulled her eyes away from the icy Guardian and looked around the room she was in. "Where am I?"

"We are still in the Western Shiro. Lady Inukimi was _kind enough_ to give all of us a room to stay in." Yuki told her with a slight purr as she leaned back and began to run her clawed hand through the end of her long braided hair. The sunlight made her silky white strands sparkle, giving it an almost ethereal glow. She still wore her dark cloak which hid most of her features. Her Chinese glaive sat propped up behind her, leaning against the corner of the room.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Hmm..." Yuki's silver eyes glanced over at Kagome before she tilted her head slightly to the side. "She is quite enthusiastic with your presence here. She is preparing the Shiro next door for us to stay in, it should be ready for us by tomorrow."

Kagome's brows furrowed as she took a moment to think. "How long was I asleep for?"

Yuki went back to playing with her hair before she gave a small shrug. "Two days... You really taxed yourself with healing that _dog_."

Kagome shifted uncomfortably before she looked away. "What about the Lords of the World Council?"

"They're around..." Yuki said nonchalantly as she stopped her movement and looked over at Kagome, giving her a hard stare. "Was saving the Inu Lord really worth pushing yourself so far."

Kagome shrugged. "Have they been checked on? Ashanti is still running around and I don't want them being left alone. She will target them."

"Their Generals are making sure they are kept safe. Have faith in them Kagome, we trained them well." Yuki huffed before she got up and made her way over to Kagome and sat down in front of her. She was tired of Kagome avoiding her questions. "Kagome..." Yuki waited until Kagome looked over at her before she continued. "Why is the Inu Lord so important?"

Kagome tilted her head down and pursed her lips as she thought about Yuki's question. Subconsciously her fingers began to twist the end of her yukata.

The leopard glared at Kagome as she waited, it only took a moment before another thought struck her. "Does this have something to do with your connection to him in the past?"

Kagome sighed as she shook her head. "No, well maybe..." Kagome huffed before thinking for a minute longer before she spoke again. "I am not fully confident in Elizaveta or Reagan's ability in being able to take over after I am gone." Yuki gave her a confused look, not quite sure what the two Children of Light had to do with this but she waited patiently for Kagome to continue.

"No matter who I choose to take my place, once I'm gone there will be disorder. I know that the other Lords will do everything they can in order to help them but..." Kagome paused as she tried to explain her worries before she sighed in frustration. "Sesshoumaru is the strongest of his kind, and when I'm gone he will try to take control of things. I _need_ him to understand my vision. I _need_ him on my side."

Yuki scoffed. "He's arrogant-"

"Yes he is..." Kagome nodded in agreement.

"He's selfish-" Yuki continued.

"Sometimes... but who isn't?" Kagome said with another nod.

"...You-" Yuki cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't count, you can't compare me and others, that's not fair." Kagome huffed as she looked back at the leopard.

"Oh?" Yuki countered.

Kagome glared at the cat. "I was made specifically this way and you know it. Your being unfair..."

Yuki shrugged but didn't deny it. "He can be cruel..."

"Only to his enemies..." Kagome said with a sigh. "He's a good Lord. Everyone under his care would prosper."

Yuki gave Kagome a good long hard stare before she nodded. "Very well."

Kagome sighed and relaxed her figure. Yuki had a tendency of going into what Kagome called 'mother mode' and every time she did it Kagome couldn't help but fidget. She was really good at making Kagome feel like a small child that got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She knew that Yuki only did this due to being concerned but still, Kagome couldn't help but either sigh in relief or pout like a child after every conversation she had with her. Taking a deep breathe before slowly letting it out, Kagome looked around. "Where are the other Guardians?"

"In the amulet." Yuki hummed as she inspected her claws. "We were taking turns on watching over you, it was too crowded for all of us to be in this room."

Kagome nodded, she could understand that. Saisei and Nisshoku wouldn't have lasted long before breaking out into a fight. Misuto wouldn't have helped the matter by getting on everyone's nerves. Inari would have become an instigator due to her playful nature, and Yuki, Sasayaki, and Hikari would have gotten easily annoyed by all the chaos. So it was definitely for the better doing it this way. After a moment or two passed, Kagome's thoughts turned back to Sesshoumaru. She had been shocked to say the least, out of all the youkai that she had saved, he was by far the weakest one that she had come across. She had no idea how he lasted as long as he did, and he was lucky that she had noticed it when she did or else she might have accidentally killed him. It was going to take her days to heal him fully, maybe even a week. She knew that she couldn't push herself as far as she did a couple of days ago, so she will have to heal him slowly. She couldn't help but wonder why he was effected more than any others... Was it possibly because he was more of a threat than the others? Kagome's brows furrowed as she lightly bit her bottom lip, losing herself deep in thought. It was the only thing that made any sort of sense. Shifting slightly, Kagome finally stopped playing with her yukata before she slowly got to her feet. Her curiosity was getting the better of her and she felt the overwhelming need to check up on the Western Lord, plus she was curious about Inukimi as well.

Yuki glanced up at Kagome before she lifted a curious brow. "Kagome... What is the matter?"

Kagome looked down at the leopard before she gave a hesitant smile. "I would like to check on Lord Sesshoumaru."

Yuki gave Kagome a suspicious glare, she couldn't help but worry about this new _fascination_ that Kagome was developing towards the dog. "Oh?"

Kagome saw the question that danced around in Yuki's silver orbs before she let out a small sigh. "Don't worry Yuki, I'm just curious. For some reason the curse effected him more than anyone else and I want to know why."

Yuki stared Kagome down for a few more moments before giving her a small nod, then got up herself. Kagome watched as Yuki stretched out her body before she turned to fully face her. Before Kagome could say another word, Yuki began to glow a bright white and Kagome watched as she turned into her leopard form, but like most of the other Guardians, the form was smaller than her true size. Kagome saw the snow leopard look up before giving her a nod, then slowly made her way to the chamber door. She didn't bother with changing her clothes, she had know idea where her clothes were anyway. So the silky pure white sleeping yukata will just have to do for now and honestly, she didn't mind walking around bare foot, she preferred it actually. Slowly she opened the door to peeked out into the hall and she was slightly surprised that there was a servant knelt down outside the door.

Bright brown eyes looked up and once they registered who was in front of her, the female youkai immediately turned and bowed low to Kagome. "My Lady, we are glad to see you up and well. My name is Uzume, and I am your servant during your stay here. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Kagome lifted a brow as she stared down at the still bowing youkai. Gently she let her reiki reach out and inspect the small female in front of her, she almost reminded Kagome of a mouse. She had dark brown hair and light brown eyes, she was simply dressed which indicated her low status. She wasn't very powerful and that only made Kagome even most curious. How was this lower level youkai surviving better than the Lord of the Shiro? There had to be more to this than what she had originally thought and she was determined to figure it out. Slowly Kagome reached out and light touched the servant's shoulder before she spoke. "You may rise."

Uzume slowly stood up but she made sure to keep her eyes lowered as she waited for the Lady Miko to give her some instructions. After a moment of silence passed, she decided that perhaps the lady was waiting for her to say something. "Was there anything I can do for you, my lady?"

Kagome snapped herself out of thought once she heard the servant's question. She looked around the hall for a moment as she redirected her reiki to expand around her and it wasn't long before she faintly felt Sesshoumaru's aura coming from a room further down the hall. Turning her attention back to the servant, Kagome answered her question as politely as she could. "That will not be necessary Uzume, this one should be fine. You may go back to your normal duties."

Uzume suddenly became nervous, her aura screamed with unease which puzzled Kagome and she waited patiently to see if she would express herself, and it wasn't long before Uzume answered. "My lady, Lady Inukimi will be displeased with me if you need something and I am not there to take care of it."

Kagome sighed as she looked the mouse youkai over, genuine fear radiated off her and the last thing Kagome wanted was to get the poor woman in trouble but at the same time she didn't want Lady Inukimi's servant following her around all day either, she had her own maid after all. With that thought, she couldn't help but wonder what Umeko was doing. Scratching the back of her head, Kagome looked back over at the mouse. "You have no need to worry, Uzume. This one will explain this to Lady Inukimi. Once this one finds Umeko, she can help this one with whatever I may need."

Uzume gave a stiff nod but still she was extremely tense. Kagome noticed this and slowly she reached out and lightly laid her hand on Uzume's shoulder to offer comfort, being careful not to touch any of her skin. Kagome noticed that the curse pulsed strongly under her palm which cause Kagome to grimace. It only took her a small moment to make her next decision, she truly hated to see the youkai here struggle. Slowly Kagome allowed her reiki to rise up and gently enter into Uzume. She watched as the mouse stiffened and her fear doubled but that didn't last too long. It only took Kagome a couple of minutes to cure her from the curse since Uzume's soul wasn't as big as a Daiyoukai. Her wide brown eyes looked up at Kagome for the first time since Kagome walked out of her room. Uzume's eyes began to water once she realized what Kagome had just done before she dropped to her knees again to give a deep bow. It was only a moment later when Kagome heard her soft voice ring out. "Thank you, my lady."

Kagome gave her a small smile. "Your welcome Uzume. You have no need to worry. This one will explain your absence to Lady Inukimi. Now off with you, this one is sure that there are more important things that require your attention."

Uzume gave another bow before she finally relaxed and did what she was told. Kagome watched as she turned and made her way down the hall. It wasn't until she was completely out of sight before Kagome turned and headed towards the room that Sesshoumaru was currently staying in with Yuki following closely behind her. She couldn't help but wonder if he was up yet but she supposed that she will find out soon enough. It wasn't long before Kagome stood before the door that hid the Inu lord but there was something else that grabbed her attention. Her brows furrowed as she fluxed her reiki to search for the strange aura that seemed to be reaching out to her. Taking a small step back, Kagome looked further down the hall before her eyes landed on the double doors at the end of the hall. Slowly she made her way towards it as she gently probed further. One thing she knew for sure was that she felt Sesshoumaru's power placed over the door, which told Kagome that this was more than likely his room. But if that was the case, than why was resting in the room down the hall? Kagome glanced down at the door that the Inu Lord was currently behind for a moment before she glanced back at the door in front of her. Why, indeed? Now she was curious... What was the dog hiding? Something was calling her and whatever it was, it was locked inside with no way to get out. Pushing her power further, Kagome realized that the aura inside was dark and clouded, which made her eyes widened in surprise and it was only a moment later when she realize that she recognized this aura. Her eyes darkened with rage, it was Kikyo's aura inside but why would Sesshoumaru be hiding her?

At first Kagome had every intention of being respectful to Sesshoumaru's privacy but now that she realized that the dark power she was feeling was from Kikyo, it changed everything. Taking a deep breath, Kagome began to build her power. Once she was sure that she had enough power built up to over power Sesshoumaru's barrier, Kagome began to use it to take his barrier down. It wasn't long before it began to crumble under the pressure of her own. After a few moments, the barrier flickered twice before completely falling and as soon as it did Kagome forcefully yanked the door open with one hand as she summoned a sword with the other. She told herself that she was fully prepared for whatever was on the other side of those doors but she had no idea just how wrong she had been when she finally entered the dark and richly decorated room.

At first it looked empty, but as she looked around further, she realized that she wasn't alone. Slowly she walked towards the bed as she noticed that someone was lying asleep on top of it and the closer she got, the further she realized that the woman sleeping wasn't Kikyo as she originally thought, but it seems that Kikyo's aura was suppressing the young woman's own aura. Walking around the right side, Kagome studied the young woman's face and oddly enough, she realized that she knew this female. Further expanding her reiki, Kagome pushed her reiki passed Kikyo's to reach the aura that laid underneath. Her eyes widened as another warm and bright tendril of reiki reached out to meet her own. The woman was a miko... Not only just a miko but this aura was from someone she hadn't seen in years. Someone that shouldn't even be alive. This girl, no, this _woman_ was... "Rin?"

* * *

Down the hall, behind the elegantly carved doors that lead to Lady Inukimi's room, a demon that had previously been sleeping so peacefully, so deeply, jolted awake. His eyes burned a bright murderous red and a deep rumbling growl vibrated through his chest as he felt his barrier go down. Someone broke into his room, a stranger was near the one thing that was so important and that stranger had found his one and only weakness. His daughter was in danger! At that moment in time, it didn't matter that he still felt weak, it didn't matter that he could barely stand, the only thing that matter was saving his Rin.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 16**

* * *

-Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :D

Until next time!

-Peach


End file.
